Eastern Cornbelt:
Cloudy conditions with highs in the 50s were reported across much of the Eastern Cornbelt during the week, but cooler weather and an increased chance of precipitation was in store for the coming weekend. Highs in the 40s were common in Michigan as the week progressed.
Western Cornbelt:
Iowa posted one of its snowiest Januarys on record, with Des Moines recording 27.2 inches of snowfall for the month, second only to 37 inches in 1886. Despite bitterly cold weather in mid-January, the state recorded average January temperatures at or slightly above the norm.
Highs in the 50s were reported in Iowa and Nebraska during the first days of February, well above the average for this time of year. The unseasonably mild weather prompted warnings in Nebraska about possible ice jams and flooding along the Platte River between Columbus and the Missouri River.
The flood risk was exacerbated by forecasts calling for a quarter inch of rain over the coming weekend, which is needed to alleviate drought in the region. The Feb. 1 US Drought Monitor showed a wide patch of severe drought in eastern Nebraska, while most of Iowa was locked in drought conditions ranging from severe to extreme.
Southern Plains:
Unseasonably mild weather pushed temperatures in parts of Kansas to 20 degrees above normal as the week progressed, with highs expected to approach the 70s near Lawrence and Topeka. That was a stark change from just two weeks earlier, when subzero lows were notched across the state.
An increased chance of rain was possible by the weekend in Kansas and Oklahoma, with the possibility of severe thunderstorms in western Oklahoma. Northern Texas was also bracing for a wet weekend. Drought conditions have eased considerably across the region, with areas of extreme-to-exceptional drought now limited to New Mexico and a few spots in western Texas.
South Central:
Temperatures in the 60s were reported across Arkansas and Tennessee late in the week, while widespread weekend rains were expected throughout the region. The wet weekend was expected to extend down to Louisiana and Mississippi as well, with up to two inches possible.
The precipitation comes at an opportune time, as drought conditions continue to be reported across much of Louisiana, northern Mississippi, and western Tennessee. Broad areas of severe-to-exceptional drought were evident in central Louisiana and the northern half of Mississippi, according to the Feb. 1 US Drought Monitor.
Southeast:
Highs in the 50s and 60s were common across the Carolinas, Virginia, Alabama, and Georgia during the week. Spotty storms were in the weekend forecast, but nothing comparable to the previous weekend, when tornado activity caused power outages and minor structural damage in parts of the Carolinas.
Florida saw highs in the 70s throughout the week, but the state was bracing for potentially heavy rain by the weekend.