Midwest Weekly Highlights - October 15-21, 2019

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Slight Chill

Temperatures were near to slightly below normal across most of the Midwest for the week (Figure 1).  Missouri, southern Iowa, southern Illinois and southern Kentucky were 2-3°F below normal, while most of Indiana and Lower Michigan were 1-2°F below normal.  Only a few areas in Wisconsin, northern Minnesota and central Ohio were slightly above normal.
 

A Few Wetter Areas

Wetter areas were observed across the Midwest in Iowa, northern Wisconsin, the U.P. of Michigan and eastern Kentucky during the week (Figure 2).  Amounts of over an inch were reported. In many cases, this was 150 percent or more of the normal amount (Figure 3).  Areas in the U.P. of Michigan received more than 1.50 inches through the morning of October 16 alone (Figure 4).  Areas in southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois, northern Indiana and western Ohio were much drier, however.  Northeastern Illinois, southeastern Wisconsin and northwestern Indiana had less than a quarter the normal amount. Drought remained steady across the Ohio River Valley, with extreme drought expanding slightly in eastern Kentucky in the October 14 U.S. Drought Monitor (Figure 5).
 

Harvest Catches Up in Illinois

With a slower start to harvest season, significant progress was made in drier areas across the central Midwest during the week.  Crop Progress Reports for October 20 from USDA-NASS showed an increase of more than 40 percent in corn and 20 percent in soybeans harvested in Illinois from the previous week.  Most of the state received below-normal precipitation during the week.  Some progress was also made in Indiana and Ohio, which also had drier conditions.  However, most of the region remains behind the five-year average with both the soybean and corn harvest.
 

-BJP-