An early Summer-like feel...
Across the Corn Belt, warm air is spreading northward, although relatively cool conditions linger in the Great Lakes region and the Dakotas. Late-season planting continues to quickly advance, particularly in the eastern Corn Belt, while scattered showers and thunderstorms dot the upper Midwest.
On the Plains, cool, rainy weather is perpetuating fieldwork delays in parts of Montana. Significant lowland flooding also remains a concern across parts of the northern Plains. Farther south, hot weather continues across the southern half of the Plains, where Friday’s highs will again approach 100°.
In the South, very hot, mostly dry weather is increasing stress on pastures and rain-fed summer crops, especially in drought-affected areas from Texas to the southern Atlantic States. Friday’s high temperatures will approach, reach, or exceed 100° in many locations.
In the West, cool, dry weather prevails, except for some lingering rain and snow showers in the northern Rockies. A Frost Advisory was in effect Friday morning in parts of Idaho’s Snake River Plain. Chilly weather is hampering crop development and delaying the melt season for high-elevation snow packs.
During the next 5 days, widely scattered showers and thunderstorms will affect the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. The greatest concentration of showers will accompany a cold front crossing the Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic States through the weekend. More significant precipitation will affect northern California during the weekend and reach parts of the northern Plains early next week.
Unusually cool conditions will persist in California, but most of the remainder of the U.S. will experience a continuation or development of above-normal temperatures.
Looking ahead, the 6- to 10-day outlook calls for below-normal temperatures across the northern Plains and much of the West, while warmer-than-normal weather will prevail east of a line from the southern Rockies to the upper Mississippi Valley. Meanwhile, above-normal precipitation from northern portions of the Rockies and the Great Basin into the Great Lakes region will contrast with drier-than-normal conditions from the southern Rockies into the Southeast.