US Weather Latest

14/06/12 -- The latest weather forecast from the US appears to be showing more rain pushing a bit further east in the 5-day forecast compared with yesterday. You can click the map to enlarge it, with yesterday's 5-day forecast on the left an this afternoon's latest on the right.

Below that there are maps of the main corn and soybean producing areas. This looks like a better forecast than yesterday from my perspective, but what do I know?

Not as much as my expert weather chum Gail Martell at Martell Crop Projections. Gail's take on it is this:

"Scattered strong thunderstorms occurred overnight in North and South Dakota and Minnesota, improving field moisture in the spring wheat belt. Major corn and soybean farms missed out on rainfall. However a very stormy period is shaping up over the next several days in the Upper Midwest and Central Plains.

"The forecast is very wet in the western Corn Belt in southern Minnesota, Iowa, southeast Nebraska and Kansas. Over 3 inches of rain is possible in broad swath that would affect all of Iowa.

"Extremely heavy rain is anticipated in the Western Corn Belt along a stalled cool front . The rain outlook is wetter than yesterday in Iowa, the top corn state, but drier in Nebraska, the number 3 leading corn producer. The forecast remains threatening for Eastern Midwest corn and soybeans, where a strong ridge of high pressure is expected to hold sway.

"The cool front is expected to stall on a slant from Wisconsin to Kansas, due to a blocking ridge of high pressure in eastern United States. This ridge is expected to weaken Saturday night along its northern flank, allowing showers to penetrate northern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin. Also, northern Indiana and Michigan may get useful rain. The GFS model suggests that high pressure may re-strengthen next week."