Midwest Weekly Highlights - September 24-30, 2014

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Dry Weather

Conditions were mostly dry in the final week of September. A large area, including most of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky, received no rainfall during the week (Figure 1). Most of the remaining area in the region picked up less than a half inch of rain with only the thumb of Michigan and a swath from north central Iowa to extreme northern Missouri topping that amount. Just a tiny fraction of the Midwest was above normal compared to more than half the region being a half inch or more below normal for the week (Figure 2). The dry conditions allowed for good field work conditions across much of the Midwest during the busy harvest season. Drought conditions expanded slightly (Figure 3) in southwest Missouri but still accounted for less than 1% of the region according the the US Drought Monitor. No severe weather was reported during the week in the Midwest (Figure 4).
 

Warmth Across the Region

The Midwest was warmer than normal in all locations (Figure 5). Temperatures ranged from 2°F to 11°F above normal with the warmest readings in northwest Minnesota and closer to normal readings in the southeast. Maximum temperatures (Figure 6) were more uniformly warm, ranging from 4°F to 10°F above normal. Minimum temperatures (Figure 7) showed more variation with departures of up to 14°F above normal in northwest Minnesota and near normal, and even slightly below normal, temperatures across most of Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.
 

-MST-