Weather

For most, the late season is warm; scattered showers and storms on parts of the plains

In the Corn Belt, warm, mostly dry weather favors the maturation of summer crops. Such conditions are especially favorable in the northwestern Corn Belt, where crop development is still lagging behind normal rates. In Minnesota, only 23 percent of soybeans dropped leaves on September 15, compared to the 5-year average of 39 percent. Nationally, 44 percent of soybeans dropped leaves on that date, compared to the average of 37 percent.

On the Plains, showers are providing only limited relief from hot, dry conditions that had reduced topsoil moisture to one-half to three-quarters very briefly to briefly by September 15 in all Plains states except North Dakota. Despite the ongoing drought, U.S. producers had planted 14 percent of their targeted winter wheat acreage, very close to the mid-September average of 13 percent. More than one-third (35 percent) of Colorado’s wheat was planted by September 15.

To the south, localized heavy showers continue to form in the mid-Atlantic. Meanwhile, parts of southeastern North Carolina are beginning to assess damage and recover from flooding after Monday’s downpours, which totaled 10 inches or more in parts of Brunswick and New Hanover Counties. Farther west, a return of dry weather to the Mississippi Delta and surrounding areas is allowing some field work to resume. Following Hurricane Francine’s passage last week, Louisiana’s sugarcane yield, which had been rated good to excellent, dropped from 82 to 66 percent between Sept. 8 and 15.

In the West, cool, showery weather is affecting the northern portions of the Great Basin and Intermountain West, as well as parts of the Four Corners States. Any precipitation helps to increase topsoil moisture and reduce the threat of wildfires. On September 15, prior to the last rainfall, USDA/NASS topsoil moisture was rated as 50 to 80% very short to short across all western states except Arizona, California, and Utah.