U.S. Weather/Crop Progress
Highlights:
- 61% of the corn is silking which means that more than half the corn crop is in the pollination stage or has already completed the pollination stage and is entering the dough or ear-fill stage. This is 20 points higher than a week ago, 1 point behind last year, and 5 points ahead of the 5-year average. Sorghum heading is at 34%, even with last year and 1 point ahead of the 5-year average. Barley heading at 84%, increased 8 points this week but is now 3 points behind last year and 5 points behind the 5-year average. Soybean blooming is at 65%, up 14 points from last week, 1 point behind last year, but 5 points ahead of the 5-year average.
- The corn crop condition report dipped slightly this week with the Good/Excellent rating dropping 1 point to 67% but the poor category increased 1 point. The sorghum condition rating improved to 60% G/E, up 3 points from last week. The barley condition G/E rating held steady at 74%. The soybean condition rating remained at 68% G/E.
- In the West, a cold front interacting with the monsoon circulation is generating widely scattered showers, mainly from Arizona to Montana. Cooler air is arriving in the Pacific Northwest, but the remainder of the western U.S. continues to experience above-normal temperatures. Air quality remains poor in several areas—primarily from eastern Oregon into the northern Rockies—due to pervasive wildfire smoke.
- On the Plains, record-shattering heat prevails in parts of Montana and the Dakotas, while hot, dry weather is returning across the remainder of the nation’s mid-section. On July 24 in Montana, daily-record high temperatures soared to 109°F in Glasgow and 107°F in Havre. For Havre, that marked the highest reading since August 3, 2001, when it was 109°F. The northern Plains’ heat is promoting winter wheat harvesting and hastening the maturation of spring-sown small grains.
- In the Corn Belt, dry weather prevails, aside from a few lingering showers in the Mississippi Valley. Today’s Midwestern high temperatures will remain below 80°F in the vicinity of the Great Lakes—but will range from 90 to 100°F in western corn and soybean production areas, primarily across Nebraska and the Dakotas. Although most Midwestern corn and soybeans are developing well, producers are monitoring a recent drying trend and heat slowly building eastward.
- In the South, mostly cloudy, showery weather persists from the western Gulf Coast region to the middle and southern Atlantic States. In most areas, this week’s rain has been distributed evenly enough to prevent widespread flooding, although flash flood concerns exist in coastal Texas, southwestern Louisiana, and parts of the Carolinas. In drought-affected sections of the Southeast, rain continues to generally benefit pastures and immature summer crops.
Outlook:
Southern rainfall will become less organized, although showers will linger for the next several days, with 5-day totals topping 2 inches in the western Gulf Coast region and parts of the Southeast. During the weekend and early next week, thundershowers should return across the Midwest, although only scattered locations will receive more than an inch of rain. Meanwhile, monsoon-related showers in the West will diminish, with minimal rainfall expected after Saturday. Additionally, hot weather will persist in much of the West, but the focus for extreme heat will shift into the nation’s mid-section. By early next week, 100-degree heat will cover the central and southern Plains and possibly the southwestern Corn Belt. The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for July 30 – August 3 calls for above-normal temperatures nearly nationwide, with an area stretching from the Plains and Midwest into the Northeast having the greatest likelihood of experiencing hotter-than-normal weather. Meanwhile, above-normal rainfall in the Pacific Northwest and much of the eastern one-third of the U.S. should contrast with drier-than-normal conditions across the Plains, Rockies, Great Basin, and Intermountain West.
