Across the Corn Belt, another significant rain event is keeping fieldwork at a virtual standstill across the Dakotas and western Minnesota. In contrast, a sudden heat surge across the remainder of the region favors a gradual acceleration of corn and soybean planting activities, due to rising soil temperatures and drying fields. Later Monday, high temperatures should reach 90°F or higher in many areas west of the Mississippi River, including parts of Iowa, Missouri, and eastern Nebraska.