Across the Corn Belt, unusually warm weather continues to promote late-autumn fieldwork. Conditions are especially favorable in the eastern Corn Belt, where crops were slower in drying down and winter wheat planting got off to a late start. On November 12, Midwestern wheat planting progress ranged from 85% complete in Missouri to 99% in Ohio.
On the Plains, colder air is overspreading Montana and North Dakota, accompanied by snow showers and gusty winds. Warm, dry weather covers the remainder of the Plains, despite an increase in cloudiness. Thursday’s temperatures should reach 70°F or higher as far north as the central Plains, promoting summer crop harvesting and late-season winter wheat planting efforts. By November 12, nearly one-fifth (18%) of the winter wheat acreage in Texas had not yet been seeded.
In the South, a low-pressure system just east of Florida is helping to focus showers and gusty winds across the southern Atlantic region. The remainder of the South is experiencing mild, dry weather. Areas that have not received recent rainfall, including the Tennessee Valley and northern Mississippi Delta, remain quite dry. On November 12, pastures were rated 71% very poor to poor in Mississippi, along with 67% in Alabama, 57% in Louisiana and 56% in Tennessee.
In the West, scattered rain and snow showers stretch from northern California to the western slopes of the central Rockies. Elsewhere, mild, dry weather is promoting late-season fieldwork. However, parts of the Southwest continue to experience significant drought, with 53% of the rangeland and pastures rated in very poor to poor condition on November 12 in Arizona, along with 40% in New Mexico.
