Eastern Cornbelt:
Winter Storm Landon dumped rain, snow, and ice on much of the Eastern Cornbelt during the week, causing widespread power outages and road closures.
The powerful storm blanketed the Chicago area with 9-10 inches of snow by Feb. 3, with a foot of accumulation reported in Peoria, Bloomington, and Pekin, and up to 11 inches in Springfield, Ill. Snowfall totals in Indiana ranged from 6-10 inches across a wide swath of the state.
In southern Ohio, ice ranging from a half to three-quarters of an inch blanketed many location on Feb. 2-3, while central and northern areas of the state were hit with 5-10 inches of snow.
Western Cornbelt:
Cold weather advisories were once again posted for portions of western Iowa and Nebraska at midweek, with single-digit lows and subzero wind chills common across the area. Wind chills on Feb. 3 were expected to drop to -15 in central Iowa and -20 degrees or lower in northern Iowa.
Parts of Missouri were hit with heavy snow from Winter Storm Landon at midweek, prompting Gov. Mike Parson to issue a state of emergency. Snowfall totals included nearly a foot in Columbia and Harvester, Mo., eight inches in Ferguson, and 4-5 inches in Kansas City. Bitterly cold temperatures moved in after the snow, with wind chills in the Kansas City area plunging to -15 on Feb. 3.
Southern Plains:
A powerful winter storm impacted nearly all of the Southern Plains during the week, producing heavy snow and ice and ushering in frigid temperatures.
Snowfall totals ranging from 6-12 inches were reported across eastern Kansas by Feb. 3, with temperatures expected to drop to the single digits on Feb. 4, along with wind chills down to -15 degrees in some locations. Similar snow levels were reported in the Colorado foothills, with lows falling to the single digits on Feb. 3 for most of northern Colorado.
Snowfall totals across Oklahoma at midweek ranged from 2.2 inches in Enid to seven inches in Oklahoma City. Areas of central Texas were hit with 3-4 inches of rain early in the week, followed by ice storms across central and northern Texas late in the week, while parts of northern New Mexico braced for significant snow and wind chills down to -30 in some locations.
Texas sources reported some urea movement on winter pasture before the rain and ice. Corn planting in the Texas Blackland Prairies normally begins in mid-February, sources said, but the winter weather conditions are likely to push that back this year. “Late February/early March would be the next normal run on winter pasture topdress, and then summer forages kick off soon after that,” said one Texas contact.
South Central:
Heavy rain, potential flash flooding, freezing rain, and ice were reported across Middle Tennessee on Feb. 3 as a strong cold front plowed through the region. Forecasts warned of 1-3 inches of rainfall, with up to five inches possible in some locations and ice accumulation expected in northwestern areas of the state.
Widespread power outages were reported across Tennessee late in the week, with reports of ice accumulation cutting powering to more than 134,000, mostly in the Memphis area.
A wide swath of Kentucky was also in the storm’s path, with reports of ice accumulation ranging from a quarter to a half-inch in some areas of the state. The storm also battered northwestern Arkansas with a blanket of snow, including five inches in Fayetteville, six inches in Bentonville, and more than seven inches in Beaver.
Louisiana and Mississippi also experienced a chilly blast of winter weather late in the week, prompting a tornado watch in parts of Mississippi on Feb. 3. Rainfall totals of 1-3 inches were expected across southeastern Louisiana, along with a 30-degree drop in temperatures on Feb. 3-4.
Southeast:
Another powerful winter storm brought more than a foot of snow to parts of western Pennsylvania, upstate New York, and parts of New England during the week, along with thick ice accumulation in the Delmarva area.
The prior week’s powerful nor’easter hammered much of Virginia and North Carolina with 30-35 mph winds, along with wind chills in the single digits and teens in some locations. The arctic blast also hit Georgia during the last days of January, with wind chills dropping to subzero lows in some areas of northwestern Georgia on Jan. 28-29.
Rain was fairly widespread across Alabama at midweek, with temperatures reported in the 50s and 60s. The wet, unsettled pattern was expected to persist through the rest of the work week. In central and southern Florida, by contrast, temperatures in the 80s were common at midweek, although cooler weather was on tap for the coming weekend.
“We are starting to get very busy, which is normal for the end of January in Florida,” said one fertilizer industry contact.