Latest News From Weather - General

Seasonal Drought Outlook calls for some drought improvement across areas of the Plains.

Texas moves backwards, with 12.88% of the state covered by exceptional drought.

Normal precip expected across most of the Corn Belt.

Forecast calls for below-normal precip for bulk of Corn Belt.

Drought Monitor reflects 60.21% of the nation still covered by some form of drought.

Drier conditions expected in the western Corn Belt, while wet condition to continue in the eastern Belt.

Cooler-than-usual conditions to linger into month's end.

Seasonal Drought Outlook a broken record for Southern Plains.

But a majority of the country is still covered by some form of drought.

Rains the next two months set the stage for grazing season.

Drought monitor notes that 34.96% of contiguous U.S. is drought-free -- little changed from last week.

Meteorologist Gail Martell provides her weather insight.

After last summer's record drought, farmers and ranchers are preparing for the possibility of another dry year.

But western Corn Belt not included in forecast for above-normal precip.

Temps expected to be 10 to 15 degrees below normal over the near-term.

Meteorologist Gail Martell provides her weather insight.

Central and Southern Plains still covered by drought.

USDA's Chief Economist highlights expectations for record corn and soybean production in 2013.

Western Corn Belt still covered by drought.

Focus turns to mending drought across the western Corn Belt.

Meteorologist Gail Martell provides her weather insight.

Frigid temps in the Northern Plains and upper Midwest remain in effect.

Meteorologist Gail Martell provides her weather insight.

Slight improvement noted in the South.

Says weather resembles ENSO-neutral conditions.

Precip deficits also remain wide across northern Illinois and northern Indiana.

But more drought relief coming to the eastern Corn Belt.

Persistent drought conditions in sections of the U.S., rain in Argentina and export levels all are contributing factors.

Though farmers may be disappointed in not having a wet winter, there’s some good news mixed with the bad.

Above-normal temps expected across the bulk of the country on average the remainder of the year.

Some improvement to the lower Midwest.

The South American weather watch continues.

Fueled by declining beef production due to the drought and booming exports, fed-cattle prices soared to new levels.

30-day outlook calls for below-normal precip and above-normal temps across Central & Southern Plains.

Cotton sales to China again bulk of weekly total.

Expect La Nina to peak in November-January.

Says additional rains have helped, but more are needed.

Report highlights

Active weather pattern around next 10-plus days.

Rains in the forecast for Midwest, helping to alleviate drought.

Showers also benefit crops in Australia.

Still a lot of rain is needed to end the long-lasting drought in the Southern Plains.

But near-term outlook is promising for meaningful rains in the Southern Plains.

Recent sharp drops in corn prices may cause some pain for producers, but end users benefit. This is how the free market should and does work, says Jerry Gulke.

With farmers from Kansas to Texas saying they’ve never seen it drier, it looks like 2012 runs the risk of being another short crop year.

The drought losses have reached record levels mainly due to farmers failing to cash in crops during times of high commodity prices.

Drought brought higher placements, but WASDE expects carcass weights to drop.

Producers in the Southern Plains have to make some tough decisions during the drought.

It appears that following 2006, we entered a new climate pattern, one with warmer and drier weather in the South.

Recent high heat and humidity have caused considerable loss of life among cattle and not just in feedyards.