Southern Drought Conditions Persist

Portions of the southern U.S. were gripped by drought as rains halted harvest and planting in parts of the Plains and upper Midwest, a government report said.

Severe thunderstorms across the southern Plains, parts of the South and Midwest spawned more than six dozen tornadoes, the weekly National Agricultural Statistics Service weather summary reported Tuesday. While locally heavy showers fell in the Northeast and the Gulf Coast regions, generally light rain was observed elsewhere across the South and East.

Because of the slight rainfall, portions of the drought-stricken Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states saw little relief, causing more concern about the lack of moisture and crops planted in the fall, the report said.

Weekly temperatures that were at least 10 degrees above normal were experienced in much of the eastern Corn Belt while generally cool conditions prevailed in the West.

Dry weather in the High Plains and the Southwest promoted summer crop harvesting and late-season winter wheat planting, the report said.

Heavy rain and snow showers covered much of the Northwest, providing some drought relief and helping winter grains. To the south, windy conditions developed across drought-affected southern California.