During the week ended Tuesday, a highly variable weather pattern brought wide temperature swings to much of the contiguous US, the National Weather Service said in its weekly Drought Monitor Thursday.
COLD AIR MASS PUSHES EAST
An unusually cold airmass that settled over the Plains at the start of the data-gathering week pushed eastward, bringing a rapid and stormy end to the early season heat wave across the Eastern Seaboard, the NWS said.
In contrast, the West baked under much above normal temperatures, the NWS said. By mid-week, much above-normal temperatures had returned to the Plains, with daily maximum temperatures climbing into the upper 90s in some locations.
As temperatures began to rebound across the East, cooler air overspread the Pacific states by the end of the week, the NWS said.
The strong temperature gradients that set up across the Nation, coupled with ample Gulf moisture streaming northward resulted in widespread heavy and persistent precipitation, with many locations exceeding two inches from eastern Texas and Oklahoma northeastward to the mid-Atlantic states, and isolated instances of six or more inches in some spots, the NWS said.
Widespread rainfall, albeit with lighter accumulations, fell across the north-central Plains as daily temperatures warmed, but mostly dry weather prevailed across the upper Mississippi Valley and western Corn Belt, the NWS said. West of the Rockies, mostly dry weather prevailed for most of the week, but showers associated with a strong cold front overspread the Northwest at the very end of the period.
HIGH PLAINS
As below-normal temperatures transitioned back to a hot pattern across the High Plains, widespread precipitation moved through the region, the NWS said. Areas of convection brought up to two inches of rain to portions of eastern Nebraska and eastern Colorado, while amounts were generally an inch or less elsewhere.
That precipitation was sufficient to bring some drought reduction across northern and northeastern Colorado, but drier conditions across southeastern Colorado and Kansas, coupled with hot temperatures, resulted in degradation.
A sharp cutoff in precipitation also was reported across the far western Dakotas, where small areas of degradation were reported along the borders with Wyoming and Montana.
WEST
Mostly dry weather and above-normal temperatures dominated the Western region during the week sparking some small-scale degradation across Montana, Idaho and New Mexico, where the effects of the meager winter snow cover are beginning to be felt in falling streamflow values, the NWS said.
Status quo was maintained west of the Rockies for the most part, as reservoir conditions remain good across California during a climatologically dry time of year, the NWS said. At the end of the week, a strong cold front brought abnormal moisture to the Northwest and northern Rockies.
While not sufficient to alter the drought substantially, a modest reduction in abnormal dryness was reported in far northwestern Washington.
CATTLE, BEEF RECAP
The USDA reported formula and contract base prices for live FOB steers and heifers this week ranged from $236.71 per cwt to $264.00, compared with last week’s range of $258.00 to $264.00 per cwt. FOB dressed steers and heifers went for $408.06 per cwt to $416.65, compared with $404.17 to $414.25.
The USDA choice cutout Friday was down $0.85 per cwt at $391.47 while select was down $2.40 at $383.18. The choice/select spread widened to $8.29, from $6.74 with 55 loads of fabricated product and 28 loads of trimmings and grinds sold into the spot market.
The USDA-listed the weighted average wholesale price for fresh 90% lean beef as $459.46 per cwt, and 50% beef was $182.20.
The USDA said basis bids for corn from feeders in the Southern Plains were unchanged at $1.12 to $1.20 a bushel over the Jul corn contract, which settled at $4.46 3/4 a bushel, down $0.09.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index for the seven days ended Thursday was $373.403 per cwt, up $3.777. This compares with Friday’s Aug contract settlement of $348.42, down $4.60.