by Brad Rippey, USDA
Heavy rain moved into the upper Great Lakes region and parts of Iowa, but the remainder of the Midwest experienced an extended period of mostly dry weather and record-setting heat. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor released Thursday, coverage of dryness (D0) and moderate drought (D1) was further trimmed across northern Minnesota, but many other areas of the Midwest experienced an expansion of those categories. One exception was Iowa, where heavy showers led to locally significant improvement in the drought situation.
From September 16-21, Ottumwa, Iowa, received 3.65 inches of rain. In many other areas, warm, dry weather was nearly ideal for promoting the maturation of developmentally delayed corn and soybeans. Despite the favorable weather, the U.S. corn crop was just 51% mature by September 24, compared to the 5-year average of 64%.
However, topsoil moisture shortages were becoming acute by September 24, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with very short to short ratings encompassing 77% of Illinois and 73% of Michigan. Also on the 24th, nearly one-half of the pastures were rated very poor to poor in Iowa (48%) and Illinois (45%). Chicago, Illinois reported a remarkable streak of 7 consecutive days with 90-degree heat from September 20-26. Previously, Chicago?s latest such streak of 7 days or longer had occurred from August 24 ? September 3, 1953, and August 25 ? September 3, 1973.
