USDA: Above-normal Temps Expected by Week's End

USDA's Joint Ag Weather Facility says on the Plains, markedly warmer weather prevails in Montana and the Dakotas, helping to ease stress on livestock. "Farther south, however, chilly conditions linger across the southeastern Plains, where some light precipitation is occurring as temperatures hover near 32°F," USDA elaborates.

In the West, USDA says beneficial showers are spreading inland from the Pacific Northwest to the northern Rockies. "Farther south, however, mild, dry conditions persist from California into the Southwest," USDA reports.

In the Corn Belt, USDA says temperatures have moderated but remain mostly below normal. "Readings dipped below 0°F again this morning as far south as northern parts of Illinois and Indiana, and numerous readings below -20°F were observed in Minnesota and Wisconsin," USDA explains. Meanwhile, light snow is returning to parts of the southern Corn Belt, including the middle Mississippi Valley, where considerable snow remains from Sunday’s storm, USDA continues.

In the South, USDA reports wintry precipitation (sleet and freezing rain) is slickening roads in parts of Arkansas, as well as western sections of Kentucky and Tennessee. "Meanwhile, a cold rain is falling in northern Mississippi and rain showers are developing across Florida’s peninsula and the western Gulf Coast region," USDA details. Elsewhere, dry weather accompanies a gradual warming trend, USDA adds.

In its outlook, USDA says an increase in precipitation will accompany a warming trend across the eastern half of the U.S. In fact, five-day precipitation totals should reach 1 to 3 inches in most areas along and east of a line from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Lake Erie. "Locally heavy precipitation will also occur from the Pacific Northwest to the northern and central Rockies, with amounts in excess of 6 inches possible west of the Cascades," USDA reports. However, areas from southern California into the Southwest, as well as the Great Plains, will remain mostly dry, according to USDA. "By Jan. 10, warmer-than-normal weather will prevail nearly nationwide—a pattern that will continue into next week," USDA details.