Across the Corn Belt, warm, weather and abundant soil moisture levels are maintaining generally favorable growing conditions for reproductive to filling corn and soybeans. Some lowland flooding lingers, however, mainly in the middle Mississippi Valley.

During the next 5 days, an active weather pattern will result in widespread, 1- to 3-inch rainfall totals, except for mostly dry conditions across the southern Plains and the Pacific Coast States.

According to the Illinois Field Office of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Wet conditions slowed the progress of spraying and mowing while increasing the progress of parched fields. Statewide precipitation averaged 3.25 inches, 2.23 inches above normal.

Hot weather will persist on the central and southern Plains into Friday, but relief will arrive during the weekend as heat shifts into the East and West.

Elsewhere, frequent showers and thunderstorms will continue through week’s end from the northern Plains into the Northeast, while scattered showers will dot the Gulf Coast region and the Four Corners States.

On the Plains, a few showers linger across central portions of the region. The showers delineate the boundary between cool air across the northern Plains and hot weather farther south. From Kansas southward, heat is maintaining heavy irrigation demands and stressing livestock and summer crops.

The weather pattern during June featured a persistent storm track, which brought numerous weather systems across the area much of the month.

Illinois has experienced the second wettest June on record. The statewide average precipitation for June was 7.8 inches, about 3.7 inches above normal.

The wettest June on record was in 1902 with 8.4 inches of rainfall.

Across the Corn Belt, cool, favorably dry weather prevails, following an extended period of abundant to locally excessive rainfall. Meanwhile, localized lowland flooding lingers in the western and central Corn Belt.