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Satellite image with enhanced low cloud-top temperatures for 6:10 a.m. EDT (NOAA)
Agricultural Weather Highlights – Tuesday - November 26, 2024
In the West, a surge of Pacific moisture continues to produce widespread precipitation and windy conditions from parts of
California to the central Rockies, with heavy snow falling at higher elevations. On November 24, as wet weather arrived,
producers in California had harvested 95% of the state’s cotton, ahead of the 5-year average of 89%. Meanwhile, drier air
is gradually overspreading the Northwest, following several rounds of beneficial precipitation.
On the Plains, cold air is entrenched across much of Montana and the Dakotas, where this morning’s low temperatures
locally fell below 0°F. A variable snow cover, primarily along and near the Canadian border, is providing some insula-
tion for the northern Plains’ winter wheat. However, pockets of drought continue to adversely affect some wheat, with
32% of South Dakota’s crop rated in very poor to poor condition on November 24, compared to a national value of 12%
In the Corn Belt, cool, dry weather prevails between storm systems. Despite frequent November precipitation events,
Midwestern producers have made good progress in completing nearly all fieldwork before Thanksgiving. In Wisconsin,
for example, 97% of the corn acreage had been harvested by November 24, well ahead of the 5-year average of 82%.
In the South, a weak cold front is producing a few rain showers, mainly in the Atlantic Coast States. Elsewhere, dry
weather favors late-season fieldwork, including summer crop harvesting and winter wheat planting. In Louisiana, 64% of
the sugarcane had been harvested by November 24, well ahead of the 5-year average of 55%.
Outlook: A cold front crossing the eastern U.S. will exit the Atlantic Seaboard later today. Meanwhile, storminess in the
West will quickly propagate eastward, with precipitation developing by late Wednesday in the middle and lower Mississippi
Valley and environs. Thanksgiving Day, November 28, should feature widespread rain in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast, with
a mix of rain and snow in the Northeast. Cold air will trail the Southeastern precipitation, with weekend temperatures
expected to fall to 32°F or below possibly as far south as the northern tier of Florida. Meanwhile, sub-0°F readings will occur
each morning for the next several days across portions of the northern Plains and far upper Midwest. Elsewhere, little or no
precipitation will fall during the next 5 days across much of the nation’s mid-section, including the Plains and upper Midwest.
The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for December 1 – 5 calls for the likelihood of below-normal temperatures east of the Rockies,
while warmer-than-normal weather will prevail in the West. Meanwhile, near- or below-normal precipitation across most of the
country should contrast with wetter-than-normal conditions in the western Gulf Coast region and portions of the northern
Plains.
Contact: Brad Rippey, Agricultural Meteorologist, USDA/OCE/WAOB, Washington, D.C. (202-720-2397)
Web Site: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/TODAYSWX.pdf
Product issued by USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board, Office of the Chief Economist.
The outlook is an interpretation of National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts and products.
Next scheduled noon release of the “Agricultural Weather Highlights” will be Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. On other weekdays, this product will be posted by 9 am ET.
