Weather report: Warm and dry in the West

In the West, warm, dry weather persists, promoting fieldwork and crop development. However, breezy and dry conditions are maintaining the threat of wildfire development and expansion in parts of the Intermountain West.

On the Plains, scattered showers continue across southern areas, while cool but drier weather is returning farther north. Varying degrees of drought persist on the central Plains, where topsoil moisture remains in short supply for crops, pastures, and livestock.

In the Corn Belt, dry weather prevails across much of the region, with pockets of moderate drought developing in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. In contrast, locally heavy showers are easing dryness in the Upper Midwest.

In the South, spotty showers continue from eastern Texas to the southern Atlantic Coast. Despite early-week showers, more rain is needed across the drought-affected Mid-South, where corn is entering reproduction. Likewise, severe to exceptional drought persists in parts of the Southeast despite recent rainfall.

Outlook: High pressure will provide dry weather to the eastern third of the nation, with cool conditions across the Atlantic Coast States contrasting with increasingly warm weather in the eastern Corn Belt. Showers are likely on the periphery of the high, especially along the Gulf Coast and from the central Plains into the western and northern Corn Belt, where locally heavy rain could fall. Dry weather will prevail from the Rockies to the Pacific Coast, with heat intensifying over the weekend in California and the Southwest. The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for June 19-23 calls for cooler-than-normal conditions from the northern Plains to the central and northern Pacific Coast to contrast with above-normal temperatures across most of the eastern U.S. Above-normal rainfall is forecast for central and southern Florida as well as the Great Lakes region, while drier-than-normal weather is confined to Texas and adjacent environs.

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