Across the Corn Belt, mild, mostly dry weather favors corn and soybean maturation and harvesting, although showers associated with a weak cold front are sweeping toward the upper Mississippi Valley.
On the Plains, late-season warmth prevails nearly region wide, though clouds and a few showers are keeping temperatures cooler on the southern High Plains. Dry weather continues, with many growing areas in need of moisture for winter wheat establishment; as of October 2, topsoil moisture was rated 80 percent or more short to very short from Montana southward to Texas and New Mexico, save for Colorado at 68 percent.
