A warm week across U.S. corn and soybean areas peaking on Tuesday when widespread 9-17F warm anomalies drive temperatures to the upper 80’s from central Nebraska to the eastern Ohio Valley (Fig. 1). High wind accompanies the warm temperatures sustained at 20-25 mph from the south in Nebraska beginning Tuesday and reaching the Ohio Valley midweek. The approaching cold front eventually knocking down the warmth mid-to-late week is a slow mover. Heavy rains develop Tuesday Nebraska to Wisconsin with severe thunderstorms into midweek central Plains to Texas (Fig. 2). Thursday and Friday large areas of 1-3 in of rain produced mainly by strong to severe thunderstorms affect the central Plains with rain and snow in Colorado (Fig. 3).
Pictured: Peak anomalous warmth this week in the corn/soybean region is Tuesday (left) followed by heavy rains and severe storms developing TUE/WED (center) and expanding/intensifying later this week (right).
In the 6-10 day period the operational ECMWF model indicates an upper trough stalls over the Southwest U.S. and maintains the wet pattern stalls across the Great Plains with potential for 3-4 in. of rain in Texas and Oklahoma (Fig. 4). Severe storms will produce the heavy rains. The trough shifts east with cooling and drying to follow for the Great Plains the last week or so of May (Fig. 5).
Pictured: Early-to-middle days 6-10 heavy rains affect Texas to the central and eastern Plains (left) while the 11-15 day period is drier (right).
*Storm Vista Maps provided by CWG.