(NAFB) A heat dome is moving northward from Southern California to the Dakotas and the Corn Belt, bringing temperatures more than 10 degrees above average over the next several days. AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Chad Merrill says the operative words for next week are “hot and dry”.
“The time frame for the main agricultural areas to see this heat with temperatures mid 90s or greater would be Monday through Friday of next week, and we’ll likely see at least three days, and we’ll likely see very little in the way of rainfall.”
By the end of July, Merrill expects to see a degradation in the crop conditions, but nothing catastrophic.
“The report next week will probably be similar to this week. It’ll be the report following that, at the very end of July, where we are going to see some of that percentages drop-the good and excellent percentage, the fair and the poor condition. That being said, this is not going to be disastrous for the Corn Belt region, but it’s going to dry things out pretty quickly, and we are going to see some impacts from it. It would be a lot worse if we were going into July with a deficit of rain and a drought in that area.”
He says the heat could also take a human toll, so folks are encouraged to take frequent breaks and drink plenty of fluids.
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Audio from NAFB News Service
Audio with AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Chad Merrill
