Near-seasonal weather across the Corn Belt

Weather

Near-seasonal weather across the Corn Belt

Across the Corn Belt, colder, breezy conditions are developing across the upper Midwest. Freezing drizzle and snow showers accompany the arrival of colder air, leading to local travel disruptions. The remainder of the Corn Belt is experiencing variably cloudy weather and typical mid-winter temperatures. A shallow to moderately deep snow cover exists across much of the Midwest; snow depths on January 18 included 5 inches in Rockford, Illinois, and 6 inches in Des Moines, Iowa.

On the Plains, mild, dry, breezy weather prevails in most areas. However, colder weather and snow showers have arrived early Tuesday across eastern North Dakota, where Tuesday morning’s temperatures fell below 10°. A few snow showers are also affecting other areas of the northern Plains, but the southern half of the Plains is devoid of snow cover.

In the South, light rain showers are overspreading areas from eastern Texas into the northern Mississippi Delta. Elsewhere, mild, dry weather favors outdoor activities, including farm maintenance.

In the West, snow showers are occurring in the Four Corners region. The Southwestern snow, while highly beneficial, is generally light. Currently, most river basins in Arizona and New Mexico have snowpack values that are less than one-half of normal for this time of year. Meanwhile, a significant offshore wind event is underway across coastal southern California, where Tuesday’s wind gusts in portions of Ventura and Los Angeles Counties could reach 60 to 80 mph.