Midwest Weekly Highlights - May 8-14, 2019

---

Unseasonably Cold

Temperatures more indicative of March than May were common across the Midwest during the week (Figure 1).  Average temperatures were 5-10°F below normal across most of the region.  Iowa was by far the coldest, with most of the state 8-10°F below normal.  Maximum temperatures were even more below normal in many areas (Figure 2).  More than 200 daily low maximum temperature records were broken across the region (Figure 3).
 

Fairly Wet Again

Precipitation amounts of a half inch to an inch were common across the Midwest for the week (Figure 4).  Heavier amounts fell in western Iowa, southern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the U.P. of Michigan.  Most of these areas were well above normal (Figure 5).  Late-season snowfall also occurred in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin through the morning of May 9 (Figure 6).  Several areas around Duluth, MN (St. Louis County) received upwards of 8 inches from the storm.  Only areas in the central and southern Midwest had precipitation below normal.  Most of Kentucky had less than half the normal amount.  Northern Minnesota was also drier, with areas receiving less than a quarter of normal.  Wetter weather across most of the region extended the record streak of weeks the U.S. Drought Monitor for the Midwest had no abnormally dry or drought conditions to a 12th straight week (Figure 7).
 

Planting Season Drastically Behind

Extremely high soil moisture coupled with above normal rainfall from the previous fall through spring has led to one of the slowest planting seasons in the past 25 years.  Corn planting was 71 percent behind the five-year average in Illinois according to the NASS Crop Progress Report for May 12 (Figure 8).  Every state except Kentucky in the Midwest region was at least 28 percent behind the five-year average, with Indiana (51 percent behind) Minnesota (44 percent behind) and Ohio (43 percent behind) reporting significantly delayed corn planting.  Soybean planting was also significantly behind across the region, with every state in the Midwest except Kentucky at least 12 percent behind (Figure 9).
 

Major Flooding Recedes

Major flooding along the Mississippi River began to slowly recede during the period (Figure 10).  Major flooding crested in many areas along the river in the first half of the period before beginning a slow decent to moderate flood stage.  Major flooding was intermittently still occurring at the end of the period from Burlington, IA (Figure 11, Des Moines County) through Cape Girardeau, MO (Figure 12, Cape Girardeau County).  Major Flooding also remained on the Illinois River south of Peoria, IL (Peoria County) (Figure 13).
 

-BJP-