Eastern Cornbelt:
Wet weather limited fieldwork in the Eastern Cornbelt during the week. Heavy rainfall was reported across northern Illinois and Indiana on April 10-11, with temperatures falling to the upper-40s ahead of a weekend warmup to the upper-60s and low-70s.
Flood warnings were in effect at midweek for multiple Indiana counties after 1-3 inches of rain fell in many areas. Flood watches were also posted for much of Ohio as the same system brought similar rainfall totals to the region. Strong winds were expected in parts of both states late in the week.
Corn planting as of April 7 was 2% complete in Illinois, with the planting of oats estimated at 7% complete in Ohio and 4% in Wisconsin. “Hopefully we won’t get too much weather so we can get a good start to the season now that the long-range temperatures look favorable next week and beyond,” said one regional contact at midweek.
Western Cornbelt:
Temperatures climbed to the 60s and low-70s in Iowa during the week, with highs expected to reach the low- to mid-80s in some areas by the weekend. The surge of warm weather was accompanied by 25-35 mph winds in central Nebraska, which prompted a red flag fire warning on April 11 due to dry conditions and humidity as low as 15%.
Corn planting progressed to 7% complete in Nebraska by April 7, with 14% of Missouri’s rice crop also seeded by that date. Oats planting was also tracking ahead of the average pace at 31-32% complete in Nebraska and Iowa as of April 7.
California:
California was bracing for another powerful Pacific storm system, which was expected to hit Northern California on April 12 before slicing into Central and Southern California on April 13.
While not carrying the same amount of moisture that poured into the state earlier this year from back-to-back atmospheric rivers, the storm prompted isolated flash flood warnings in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, as well as forecasts for up to a foot of snow at higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada.
Precipitation since July 1, 2023, has ranged from 125-200% of average for much of Southern California, while sticking close to the historical average for Northern California.
The wet winter has left most of California’s reservoirs with water levels well above the historical average for April. The latest estimates from the California Department of Water Resources put current capacity at 122% of normal at Oroville, 121% at Millerton, 118% at Shasta, 116% at Folsom, 111% at Don Pedro, and 92% at Castaic.
Pacific Northwest:
Spotty showers and cooler temperatures were reported across western Oregon and Washington as the week progressed, with parts of central and eastern Oregon bracing for potentially stronger thunderstorms by the weekend.
Temperatures climbed to the upper-60s and low-70s across Idaho and Montana late in the week, giving growers ideal conditions for spring fieldwork and planting in some areas. Idaho growers had 12% of the sugar beets planted by April 7, trailing the 21% five-year average.
Western Canada:
Steadily warming temperatures were reported across Western Canada during the week, with highs in the low-20s C expected by the weekend in southern Manitoba and southern Saskatchewan.
Parts of Alberta saw highs climbing to the low- to mid-teens as the week progressed, but a weather system was expected to push temperatures down to the single digits and bring rain, snow, and wind by early next week.
“There is some seeding going on in Alberta, but just getting started,” commented one regional contact at midweek. “It will be ten days before anything goes in a big way.”