USA: hot and dry conditions increasing drought concerns in the Corn Belt

After a relatively cool and wet corn planting season, temperatures turned much hotter in mid-June across the Corn Belt with record high temperatures. According to data from WeatherTrends360, the second full week of June 2022, week-ending June 18, was the second hottest and ninth driest in 30+ years for the Corn Belt as a whole.

Since the season is still early, the burst of hot weather wasn’t overly concerning initially, however, if this pattern continues, complications for the corn crop may begin to unfold quickly.

Unfortunately, a hot and dry pattern is expected to continue through the end of June for the Corn Belt. The third full week of June, week-ending June 25, is forecast to be one of the hottest and driest third weeks of June in 30+ years, according to WeatherTrends360.

As the hot and dry pattern lingers and soil moistures deplete, the potential increases for rapid drought intensification. This threat becomes more daunting as we head into mid-summer and crops enter critical stages of maturation.

Sadly, the hot and humid conditions have already taken a toll in other areas of the agricultural industry with thousands of cattle deaths in Kansas being blamed on extreme heat.

The heat will be unrelenting through the final days of June 2022 in the Corn Belt with drier than normal conditions expected to continue. Drought conditions are likely to expand in the coming weeks as substantial rainfall will be lacking and hot weather will dry soils out quickly.

Tags: drought, heat, soil moisture, temperatures, corn belt, hottest, driest, corn, cool, planting, wet, weather, crops