USDA’s Joint Ag Weather Facility says in the Corn Belt, clouds and a few showers linger across eastern corn and soybean production areas. “Meanwhile, sunny weather in the western Corn Belt is helping to push crops toward maturity,” USDA reports. On Aug. 27, corn dented was at least 10 percentage points behind the 5-year average in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas, according to USDA.
In the West, USDA says dry weather accompanies late-season heat. “As a result, fieldwork is advancing with few delays,” USDA continues.
On the Plains, USDA reports dry weather favors fieldwork and summer crop maturation. “However, cool weather on the southern Plains contrasts with a late-summer heat wave on the drought-stricken northern High Plains,” USDA explains.
In the South, USDA says slow-moving Tropical Storm Harvey is centered over the northwestern Gulf of Mexico with maximum sustained winds near 45 mph. “Rain continues early today in the Houston metropolitan area, where totals of at least 20 to 40 inches have already sparked catastrophic flooding in many locations,” USDA continues. Elsewhere, rainfall associated with Harvey has become heavy in the central Gulf coast region, including southern Louisiana, while rainy, windy weather has developed in the southern Mid-Atlantic coastal plain, USDA explains.
For the remainder of the week, USDA says Tropical Storm Harvey should begin to drift northeastward, away from Houston, and reach the Tennessee Valley as a weakening, post-tropical disturbance by late in the week. “However, additional rainfall totals of 7 to 13 inches can be expected through mid-week in eastern Texas, including the upper Texas coast, as well as southwestern Louisiana,” USDA details. Widespread totals of 5 to 15 inches should occur in the central Gulf Coast region, with locally heavy showers eventually reaching as far north as the Ohio River, USDA reports. “Meanwhile, a low-pressure system near the southern Mid-Atlantic coast—which has the potential to become a tropical depression or tropical storm—could result in as much as 5 inches of rain today along the coast, accompanied by gusty winds and rough surf,” USDA continues. Elsewhere, USDA explains hot, mostly dry weather should prevail during the next five days across the northern High Plains and much of the West, while generally cool conditions can be expected in the South, East, and lower Midwest.
