Midwest Weekly Highlights - November 17-23, 2020

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Warm Weather Returns

Temperatures were near to above normal across most of the Midwest during the period (Figure 1). Areas that were most above normal were in western Iowa and western Missouri, where temperatures were 3-5°F above normal. Most of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, southern Minnesota, southern Wisconsin and western Kentucky were 1-3°F above normal. Areas along the Great Lakes were near normal, with a few areas in the U.P. of Michigan a degree below normal. While not as extreme as the previous two weeks, more than 75 daily high maximum and minimum temperature records were recorded across the region (Figure 2).
 

Storm Impacts Ohio River Valley

Precipitation in the Midwest was mostly limited to a storm from November 21-23 across Missouri and the Ohio River Valley (Figure 3). Most of this precipitation fell through the morning of November 22 (Figure 4). A total of 30 daily precipitation records were broken on November 22 (Figure 5). Rainfall in these areas ranged from 150 percent to 200 percent of normal (Figure 6). Some lighter precipitation also fell in the Upper Midwest as snowfall (Figure 7). Some areas in Minnesota received over an inch, with lake-effect snow in the U.P. of Michigan reaching more than two inches.
 

Harvest Season Nears End

While some of the harvest remains in the eastern Corn Belt, most of the Midwest’s corn and soybeans were harvested as of the November 22 USDA NASS Crop Progress Report. Only Kentucky at 86 percent was below 90 percent harvested for soybeans in the region. Ohio was the only state below 90 percent with the corn harvest with progress made from drier weather during the week. Of note, Wisconsin and Michigan were 17 and 16 percent above the five-year average leading into the week (Figure 8) as drier conditions over the past few weeks allowed farmers to complete harvest operations. Both states reached 90 percent harvested as of the November 22 report.
 

-BJP-