Current Weather from Ag-Meteorologist Greg Soulje - Updated 9-1-2010

On the Plains, cooler air is overspreading Montana, but late-season warmth prevails across the remainder of the nation’s mid-section. Showers are slowing spring wheat harvesting on the northern Plains, while winter wheat planting preparations continue on the central and southern Plains.

Across the Corn Belt, a band of showers stretches from Michigan to Missouri. The rain is moving into an area—mainly across the southern and eastern Corn Belt—that has become dry in recent weeks.

In the South, dry weather and late-season heat favors summer crop maturation and fieldwork, including corn, rice, and soybean harvesting. Hurricane Earl is centered less than 800 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, moving toward the northwest around 16 mph.

In the West, cool weather across the northern half of the region contrasts with late-season warmth in California and the Southwest. In California, warmth has allowed crops such as cotton and rice to nearly catch up to their normal development pace.

Hurricane Earl, currently packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, will approach the U.S. East Coast before turning toward the north and northeast. Earl will pass near, or just east of, North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Thursday night and will affect portions of coastal New England late Friday and early Saturday. Beach erosion will be a major concern along the middle and northern Atlantic Coast.

Meanwhile, a cold front will spark showers from the Great Lakes States to Texas.

During the weekend, cool air trailing the front will provide temporary relief from late-season heat in the Midwest and Northeast.

Looking ahead, the 6- to 10-day outlook calls for near- to above-normal temperatures nationwide, except for cooler-than-normal conditions in California and the Northwest. Meanwhile, below-normal rainfall in the majority of the U.S. will contrast with wetter-than-normal conditions across the nation’s northern tier as far east as the Great Lakes region.

Additional Links:

U.S. Drought Monitor
NOAA / NWS Long-Lead Outlooks

National / Regional Radar
Weather Alerts / Watches / Warnings