Midwest

After lower-than-average precipitation levels through the first quarter of the year, increased rainfall from April to June improved moisture conditions throughout the Midwest. From January-March, the average precipitation was 3.80 inches, the lowest since 2015 and considerably less than the three-, five-, and ten-year averages as seen in Figure 1. Precipitation increased by 1.41 inches from March to April to 3.38 inches, only 0.42 inches lower than the accumulated precipitation of the first quarter. In May, precipitation increased to 3.50 inches and in June it increased to 4.33 inches, bringing the accumulated precipitation from April-June to 11.21 inches. This strong second quarter is greater than the three- and five-year average by1.15 inches and 0.78 inches respectively. The average accumulated precipitation through the first half of the year totals 15.01 inches, which is 0.78 inches...