Weather Report: Frost Advisory In California, Heavy Snow On The Plains
10/29/2009 09:46AM
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In the West, precipitation is confined to the central and southern Rockies and the Pacific Northwest. Snow is heaviest across the eastern slopes of the Colorado Rockies. A frost advisory is in effect this morning for California’s San Joaquin Valley, and freeze warnings have been issued for several other valley locations in southern portions of California, Arizona, and New Mexico.
On the Plains, a major, winter-like storm is producing heavy snow in parts of eastern Colorado and western Nebraska. Meanwhile, locally heavy thunderstorms are sweeping across the eastern Plains.
In the Corn Belt, rain is developing west of the Mississippi River, ending a brief opportunity for corn and soybean harvesting. Meanwhile, favorably mild, dry weather prevails in the eastern Corn Belt, although many fields remain soggy. Producers are running out of time to plant soft red winter wheat, which requires average temperatures above 40 degrees F to germinate. Normal average temperatures currently range from about 45 degrees F in southern Michigan to the lower 50’s in southern portions of Illinois and Indiana.
In the South, rain is returning to the Delta, halting fieldwork and further reducing yield prospects for unharvested summer crops such as cotton and soybeans. In contrast, warm, dry weather favors harvest activities and other fieldwork in the southern Atlantic States.
Outlook: A storm system centered over Oklahoma will lift into the upper Great Lakes region on Friday. Snow will shift into parts of the Dakotas, while heavy showers will spread into the Mississippi Valley. Rainfall could reach 4 to 6 inches in the Delta. During the weekend, rain will move into the East. By early next week, a dry weather pattern will arrive nearly nationwide, although cool condition may linger in the South and East. The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for November 3-7 calls for near- to below-normal precipitation and near- to above normal temperatures virtually nationwide. Dry conditions will be most likely across the Ohio Valley and the interior Southeast, while warm weather will be most likely from the Southwest into the north-central U.S.
