August 15-21, 2001

The third week of August proved to be cooler and more rainy than the first two weeks combined. These conditions slowed a steep decline in crop health that was occurring previously, but not before further declines were registered during the week. The Midwest experienced above normal rainfall for the August 15-21 period (Figure 9), except for all of Missouri and Kentucky and eastern Ohio. Some places received more than 4 inches of rain in heavy convective bands (Figure 10). Temperatures were 4-8°F below normal in Iowa and Illinois, and only the far north and east edges of the Midwest were above normal (Figure 11). During the week, two distinct cold fronts passed through the area, on August 15-16 and 17-19. Both were accompanied by low pressure centers passing through the upper Midwest, where substantial rains fell. The heaviest rain accompanied the latter event, and aided drought affected areas in parts of Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan (Figure 12, National Drought Mitigation Center).