Weather report: Generally dry across most of the Midwest

In the West, precipitation is spreading inland across the Pacific Northwest. Dry weather covers the remainder of the region.

On the Plains, bitterly cold conditions are limited to the eastern Dakotas. Elsewhere, mild, dry weather prevails, although dense fog blankets portions of the southeastern Plains. Drought concerns persist with respect to the hard red winter wheat crop; by the end of January, at least half of the crop was rated in very poor to poor condition in Oklahoma (69%), South Dakota (66%), and Nebraska (50%).

In the Corn Belt, snow showers are falling in the Great Lakes region, where cold conditions persist. Elsewhere in the Midwest, generally dry weather accompanies a warming trend. Current snow depths include 3 inches in Des Moines, Iowa; Chicago, Illinois; and Fort Wayne, Indiana.

In the South, scattered rain showers are spreading across the lower Southeast, although Florida’s peninsula remains unfavorably dry. Elsewhere, warm, dry weather favors off-season fieldwork.

Outlook: Rain will develop by mid-week in the western Gulf Coast region and gradually spread into the Southeast. Storm-total rainfall could reach 1 to 2 inches in the Gulf and Atlantic Coast States, except for lighter amounts in southern Florida. Farther north, some late-week snow, sleet, and freezing rain will affect the nation’s northeastern quadrant. Farther west, mid-week precipitation in the Northwest will shift into the Intermountain region toward week’s end. Five-day precipitation totals could reach 1 to 3 inches in the Pacific Northwest, while lighter amounts can be expected farther inland. Mostly dry weather will prevail across the nation’s mid-section for the remainder of the week, although some precipitation may develop across the central and southern Plains during the weekend. Elsewhere, cold conditions will gradually ease from the Great Lakes States into the Northeast, but colder air will overspread the West by week’s end. The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for February 10-14 calls for above-normal temperatures in Montana and from the Mississippi River to the East Coast, while colder-than-normal conditions will prevail from the Pacific Coast to the central and southern High Plains. Meanwhile, below-normal precipitation in southern Florida and west of the Rockies will contrast with wetter-than-normal weather in most areas from the Plains to the Atlantic Seaboard.

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