Eastern Cornbelt:
Unseasonably warm weather helped advance the corn and soybean harvest in many areas of the Eastern Cornbelt, but showers during the week limited field activities in other locations.
A line of strong thunderstorms tracked through central Illinois and central Indiana on Oct. 11, with an EF-2 tornado confirmed near Wrights, Ill. Highs reached the upper-70s by midweek, but spotty showers returned as the week progressed. Forecasts called for a cool, wet weekend in both states.
Highs in central and northern Ohio were also expected to drop from the upper-70s to the low-60s by the coming weekend, with a strong chance of rain on Oct. 15-16.
The corn harvest as of Oct. 10 had progressed to 55 percent complete in Illinois, 36 percent in Indiana, and 19 percent in Ohio, with good or excellent ratings assigned to 70-76 percent of the regional crop. The soybean harvest was trailing the average pace slightly at 43 percent complete in Illinois, 38 percent in Indiana, and 33 percent in Ohio, with 68-71 percent of the acreage rated as good or excellent.
Western Cornbelt:
Stormy weather hit Nebraska on Oct. 12-13, with reports of rain, wind, and much cooler temperatures. Heavy rain and small hail also hit parts of central and eastern Iowa at midweek, along with 35-45 mph wind gusts. The moisture helped east drought conditions across both states.
Over the previous weekend, fast-moving storms brought severe weather, including lightning and heavy rain, to parts of Missouri. Two tornadoes were confirmed early on Oct. 11 in southwestern Missouri. As the week progressed, scattered rainfall was expected across northern Missouri as well.
Missouri growers had 64 percent of the corn in the bin by Oct. 10, compared with 29-30 percent in Iowa and Nebraska, while the soybean harvest had progressed to 60 percent complete in Nebraska, 56 percent complete in Iowa, and 22 percent in Missouri. The harvest of both crops was tracking ahead of the average pace in all three states, with good or excellent ratings assigned to 70-75 percent of the acreage in Nebraska and 60-65 percent in Iowa and Missouri.
Missouri’s rice harvest was 68 percent complete by Oct. 10, while cotton growers in the state had just 10 percent of the crop picked with 66 percent of the acreage rated as good or excellent. Nebraska’s sorghum harvest was 38 percent complete, with 52 percent of the crop rated as good or excellent.
California:
A cold front brought howling winds to much of California early in the week, prompting red flag warnings and raising concerns about spreading wildfires. Winds up to 70 mph fanned the new Alisal Fire, which had scorched 8,000 acres in Santa Barbara County by Oct. 12 and was part of a complex of fires that has burned close to 2 million acres this year in California.
With extreme-to-exceptional drought conditions gripping virtually the entire state, weather forecasters were closely watching a building Pacific system that could bring moderate to heavy rain across northern and central California on Oct. 20-26.
California growers had 15 percent of the cotton and 65 percent of the rice harvested by Oct. 10, with both tracking ahead of their five-year averages. Fully 90 percent of California’s cotton was rated as good on that date.
Pacific Northwest:
A powerful storm brought 3-7 inches of wet, heavy snow to a large area of southwestern Montana as the week began, with winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories also in effect for most of eastern Idaho.
The winter precipitation was also accompanied by cold temperatures across the Pacific Northwest, with Seattle posting a record low average temperature of 43 degrees on Oct. 12. Rain and highs in the upper-50s were reported in western Oregon at midweek. High pressure was expected to move in from the west by the weekend, however, with highs climbing to the 60s and 70s across the region by Oct. 17.
Most of the region’s fall harvest was now complete, although Idaho growers were still working on sugar beets, with 42 percent of the crop harvested by Oct. 10. Winter wheat planting was also underway in the region, with progress estimated at 88-89 percent complete in Washington and Idaho, 66 percent in Montana, and 41 percent in Oregon.
Western Canada:
After a period of unseasonably warm weather across the Prairies in early October, a low pressure system on Oct. 13 brought up to 44 mm of rain to parts of Manitoba and a rain/snow mix to areas of southern and central Saskatchewan, along with near freezing temperatures.
Although chilly temperatures and potential snowfall were in the forecast for parts of western Alberta as well, much of the region was expecting a return to warm, dry conditions as the week progressed, with highs pushing into the upper teens by late in the week.
Alberta growers had fully 95 percent of the major crops harvested by the first week of October, well ahead of the five-year average. Harvest progress in Manitoba and Saskatchewan had progressed to 96 percent and 99 percent complete, respectively, with field activities now turning to fall tillage and fertilizer applications.