In the West, a return to mild, dry weather favors fieldwork and crop development. In particular, cotton planting is advancing in Arizonaand nearly finished in California; rice planting is progressing at a fasterthan-normal pace in California; and small grain planting is progressing at a rapid pace in the Northwest.
On the Plains, showers linger across central portions of the region, including Kansasand Nebraska, where fieldwork will be slow to resume in the wake of very heavy rain. In contrast, mild, dry weather favors small grain planting and other spring fieldwork.
In the Corn Belt, widespread rain has brought fieldwork to a virtual standstill, except across northern areas—the Dakotas, Minnesota, and central Wisconsin. Storm-total rainfall has been heaviest in the western Corn Belt, including much of Nebraska, but currently the heaviest showers are falling in an area centered on northern Indiana.
In the South, showers and locally severe thunderstorms are soaking areas west of the Delta. In contrast, Southeastern drought continues to stress pastures, immature winter wheat, and summer crops.
Outlook: For today, a low-pressure system centered over the nation’s mid-section will drift eastward, maintaining the threat of severe thunderstorms across the South and producing additional heavy rain across the Midwest. By Thursday and Friday, showers and thunderstorms will affect the eastern one-third of the U.S., while warmth will expand across the northern Plains and the West. By week’s end, a few showers may return to the south-central U.S., but warm, dry weather will prevail across the majority of the nation. On April 29, temperatures may approach or reach 90 degrees F on the central and southern Plains. The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for April 30 – May 4 calls for near- to above-normal temperatures nationwide, except for cooler-thannormal weather in southern portions of Texas and Florida. Meanwhile, mostly dry weather in the Southeast will contrast with wetter-than-normal conditions in the lower Rio GrandeValleyand across the nation’s northern tier from the Northwest to the upper Great Lakes region.
