Eastern Cornbelt:
The week began with light snow across central and northern Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, followed by unseasonably warm temperatures for the balance of the week.
Highs reached the upper-50s and low-60 in all three states, but another cold front was in the weekend forecast. Scattered snow flurries were reported in Michigan at midweek, with a stronger chance of winter precipitation expected by the weekend.
Sources continued to talk of heavy fall application volumes in the region, though the pace slowed in early December with the spotty precipitation.
“I think everyone had an excellent fall,” reported one contact at midweek. “Well above average if you were able to keep product in the bin, which most did not. Everyone ran out of P and K at some point either due to low water at the dock or slow barge movement.”
Western Cornbelt:
Record-breaking warm temperatures were reported during the week in parts of Iowa, with highs reaching the upper-50s and low-60s in Des Moines, Ottumwa, Mason City, and Waterloo.
Unseasonably mild weather was also reported in Nebraska and Missouri, though a wind advisory was in effect for western Missouri at midweek, with reports of 40-50 mph gusts. Highs in the low- to mid-60s were reported in several Missouri locations as the week progressed.
Cooler temperatures and rain were in the forecast for Iowa by the weekend, however, with snow showers possible in north-central areas of the state.
Northern Plains:
Lows in the 20s and 30s were reported in the Dakotas at midweek, with highs reaching the upper-50s to mid-60s in both states, setting daily records in some locations. A wind advisory was posted for the western Dakotas late in the week, however, with high temperatures dropping to the 40s by the weekend.
Southern Minnesota also saw some unseasonably warm temperatures during the week, with highs reaching the 60s in numerous locations. Snowfall was possible in northern Minnesota by the weekend, however, with a wintry mix of precipitation also in the weekend forecasts for southern areas of the state.
Northeast:
A wintry mix of rain and snow was reported across much of the Northeast during the week, with lows falling to the upper-20s and 30s and highs struggling to reach the 40s in New England and the low-50s in the Mid-Atlantic region.
While minimal snow accumulation was reported in the region, another system was expected to bring widespread precipitation by the weekend as a strong system moves in from the Great Lakes region.
Eastern Canada:
Much of Eastern Canada was hit with the first significant snowstorm of the season as the week began, with up to25 cm of accumulation reported in Renfrew, Ont., 32 cm in Montreal, Quebec, and 12-15 cm across the Maritimes. Another system brought 2-4 cm of accumulation to southern Ontario on Dec. 7, with additional flurries possible over the weekend.