Warm and dry weather in the U.S. Midwest on Wednesday will help boost corn plantings that have fallen to a record low pace, which poses a threat to production prospects, an agricultural meteorologist said.

"Today will be the best day," said Andy Karst, meteorologist for World Weather Inc. "Then showers develop tonight, with scattered showers into the weekend."

Karst said heavier rainfall would develop beginning Saturday and continue through Wednesday next week, further stalling corn seedings. "The heaviest rains will be Saturday through Monday in the west and Monday through Wednesday in the east," he said.

Drier weather late next week should allow farmers to resume plantings, he said. "It's not ideal, but not bad either. They need to get corn planted soon."

After a cold and wet spring in most of the U.S. crop belt, farmers have seeded 28 percent of their intended corn acres, up from 12 percent a week earlier but far behind the five-year average of 65 percent, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a weekly report on Monday.

The planting pace for corn was the slowest for this point in the year in USDA records dating back to the 1980s, lagging 1984, when farmers had seeded 29 percent of their corn.

The Mississippi River broke its banks in places as heavy rain saw flood warnings issued early Saturday from Illinois to Mississippi and Florida.

The National Weather Service said early Saturday that there had been “moderate flooding” of the Mississippi at Burlington, Iowa.

Warnings were in place for rivers in Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Wisconsin, Illinois and  Iowa.

“Deep moisture getting pulled northward out of the eastern Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic will fuel moderate to heavy rains along a wrapped up cold front edging through the Tennessee valley and Southeast on Saturday,” the weather service said.

“Early Sunday, the front will pivot northward and heavy precipitation will begin spreading into the southern Appalachians and southern Mid-Atlantic states.  Some rumbles of thunder will be possible, but given the slow progression of the front and upslope flow against the Appalachians flooding and flash flooding will be the primary threat with this system,” it added.

The NWS said temperatures could be low enough for snow over southwestern Tennessee and northern Alabama late Saturday.

Related:

• Full coverage from weather.com

Flood-weary residents in parts of the Midwest were still trying to stem the tide of murky river water Friday, as late snow-melt combined with days of spring rain sent rivers toward high-water records.

Floodwaters had begun an inch-by-inch retreat in inundated Peoria, Ill., after the Illinois River crested Tuesday at 29.35 feet, eclipsing a 70-year record. In central Indiana, more heavy rain through Wednesday morning prompted a request for voluntary evacuation along the Tippecanoe River near Lafayette.

The Grand River at Grand Rapids, Mich., which reached record levels, began to fall below flood stage Thursday and some of the hundreds of people evacuated were starting to return home.

Along the Mississippi, the biggest concern was that the flood is expected to linger into May, potentially straining longstanding earthen levees and hastily-built sandbag walls. No towns were in imminent danger.

Rain-soaked Chicago had its wettest April on record, the National Weather Service said, according to NBCChicago.com.

In tiny Dutchtown, Missouri, flooding from the Mississippi has become such a fact of life that residents expressed hope that the Federal Emergency Management Agency would buy them out of their homes.

Reuters

Local residents work with soldiers of the 1140th Engineer Battalion to build a sandbag wall near Dutchtown, Missouri, on Wednesday.

Thousands of sandbags were at the ready in anticipation of a crest Thursday.

Doyle Parmer, who doubles as town clerk and emergency management chief, told The Associated Press that residents had been "jumping through hoops" for three years seeking a buyout from FEMA as part of a federal program that sees flood-prone areas set aside for green space or a park. The AP said:

In order for that money to arrive, towns must prove that flooding is frequent and devastating enough for a buyout to be cost-effective, and Dutchtown hasn't filed a suitable one yet, said Melissa Janssen, mitigation branch chief for the FEMA region that includes Missouri.

Parmer said he and other residents were ready to get out.

"Sell the house, cut the grass and get the hell out of Dodge," he said.

For 40 years, Shirley Moss has lived in the same home in the town, but as the sandbags piled up yet again, she didn't hesitate when asked if she would take a government buyout.

"In a New York minute," Moss said from her double-wide mobile home. "I'm 75 years old — I can't fight this."

Meanwhile, in North Dakota residents got their first touch of good news on Wednesday when officials said the swollen Red River would crest at lower than anticipated levels next week, the AP reported.

Residents in Fargo and neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota, have been filling sandbags ahead of the expected fourth major Red River flood in the past five years after unseasonably cold weather delayed the annual thaw.

But the river was still expected to peak at possibly its second-highest level on record, and flood preparations in the north-central United States follow major flooding on rivers in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Michigan caused by heavy rain, the AP said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related:

• Full coverage from weather.com

This story was originally published on Thu Apr 25, 2013 5:39 AM EDT

Rivers including the Mississippi and Illinois are expected to remain in “major flood stage” through this weekend, the National Weather Service warned as rain and snow continued to fall on much of the central U.S. Tuesday.

A number of flood warnings were in place as ongoing rain and runoff from last week’s intense downpours continued to keep the water levels high in rivers across Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan in particular, the NWS added.

“The larger rivers, such as the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, will take longer to recede and will remain in major flood stage through this weekend,” the weather service said.

Full coverage from weather.com

“Do not drive through flowing water. Nearly half of all flood fatalities are vehicle related. As little as 6 inches of water may cause you to lose control of your vehicle. Two feet of water will carry most vehicles away,” it added in a flood warning for several rivers in Missouri.

More snow
There were some heavy snowfalls overnight in parts of the central U.S. and snow was continuing to fall Tuesday morning but was expected to gradually diminish, the weather service said.

The worst-affected area was expected to be the foothills and eastern slopes of the Front Range Mountains, which could see up to 16 inches.

Duluth, Minn., has this month seen a record total of 50.2 inches for any month of the year, weather.com said. The figures go back to 1870.

The weather service warned that in areas where the snow was wet, travel would be “especially hazardous."

Rain and floods
There was also a risk of severe storms from the Ohio Valley to the lower Mississippi Valley, weather.com said on Tuesday, with “localized damaging winds and large hail.”

The floods have been blamed for at least five deaths since Thursday and have also forced evacuations, swamped homes and shut down bridges.

Barge traffic on the Mississippi was brought to a near standstill. On Sunday at least one sank and others ran aground or were half-submerged because of the floods.

States of emergency have been declared in Missouri and Illinois.

In Grafton, Ill. -- about 40 miles northeast of St. Louis -- Mayor Tom Thompson said his small community along the Mississippi River was managing, despite the water reaching 10 feet above flood stage by Monday afternoon.

"If it gets another foot (higher), it's going to become another issue," Thompson said, reported The Associated Press. Many businesses "are kinda watching and holding their breath. ... Some things are going to really be close to the wire."

Prison inmates were bused in to work alongside the National Guard and volunteers to build a floodwall of sand and gravel in Clarksville, Mo., but the barrier was showing signs of strain on Monday, according to The AP.

Areas south of St. Louis are not expected to crest until late this week.

Meanwhile, smaller rivers were causing big evacuations elsewhere. In Grand Rapids, Mich., the Grand River rose to a record 21.85 feet --  breaking 1985's record of 19.64 feet -- and driving hundreds of residents outs of their homes while flooding parts of downtown. Flood stage for the Grand River is 18 feet, according to Detroit's Lansing State Journal.

“We have prepared for the worst,” Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell said, reported The Lansing State Journal.

NBC's Elizabeth Chuck contributed to this report.

This story was originally published on Tue Apr 23, 2013 6:44 AM EDT

A massive and deadly weather system carrying potentially severe thunderstorms, damaging winds and possibly even tornadoes was soaking the nation’s midsection on Thursday, with flash floods reported in Chicago and heavy rain expected to cause major flooding along the Mississippi River.

The weather was said to be responsible for two deaths.

Minnesota State Police say 16-year-old Jonathon Pohlen of Houlton, Wis., was killed Thursday afternoon when he lost control on snowy Interstate 94 in eastern Minnesota, crossed over the median and collided with a truck's trailer.

The National Weather Service in Chanhassen says the storm could dump up to a foot of snow in northeastern Minnesota by Friday.

Meanwhile, flash floods are being blamed for the death of an 80-year-old motorist south of St. Louis.

Police in De Soto say the woman's car was swept Thursday off Highway E into Joachim Creek.

And flooding in the Chicago area — with more than 4 inches of rain reported — closed major expressways and led the evacuations of residents stuck in flooded homes, apartments and a hospital.

/

Firefighter Jason Kelley and police officer Shannon Vandenheuvel carry children from Barbara Jones' partially submerged car in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Thursday.

The deluge caused a water main break on Chicago's South Side and the gushing water opened up a sinkhole that swallowed three cars.

Parts of the Edens and Eisenhower expressways in Lake County, Ill., were closed in both directions at one point during the day, NBCChicago.com reported.  

Gov. Pat Quinn declared a state of emergency across Illinois as thousands of people struggled with flood damage even as another wave of wet weather was on the way.

Quinn said a hospital in Morris, Ill., had to be evacuated and two trailer parks severely flooded. Residents living in The Towers at Four Lakes, a large apartment complex in a suburban area west of Chicago, were rescued from their flooded homes by boat, the DuPage County Sheriff's office said.

Ajay Jha his wife Alo and daughter Aditi had to be evacuated through an open window of their home in Lisle by boat after a branch of the DuPage River overflowed.

"We lost everything" Ajay told the Chicago Tribune. “You can’t stop mother nature. We’re just happy we are safe.”

Illinois' governor warned people of the hazards of travel.

"Heavy rainfall over the past few days has created dangerous flooding in areas across the state," Quinn said, NBCChicago.com reported. "Everyone should stay home and off the roads if possible. To ensure safety as these storms continue, people should be alert and avoid flooded areas."

Residents were told to tune in to local TV and radio stations for updated information about any closed roadways or evacuations.

More than 500 flights were canceled at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport due to the extreme weather, and some trains were delayed. Air travelers were urged to check airline websites or call to confirm whether flights were still planned.

In Midland, Mich., Northwood University canceled classes for the rest of the week because of flooding problems, NBC station WDIV reported.

The Weather Channel's Greg Forbes, a severe weather expert, categorized the storm as a “major/massive flood event” for the Midwest.

Flood watches and warnings were posted on Thursday stretching from northeastern Oklahoma to much of Missouri, northern and central Illinois, southern and central Wisconsin, and parts of Lower Michigan, Weather.com said.

Flood warnings were issued in some cases for areas already swamped by melting snow.

Seventeen gauges placed along the Mississippi River to monitor the rising water already showed major flooding, Forbes said, and the water was predicted to rise in the next 24 hours in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Indeed, the band of predicted extreme weather stretched from northern Michigan to Houston and the Texas coastal area.

States along the Eastern Seaboard were set for heavy rain on Friday, Weather.com reported. The tornado risk, however, was expected to diminish as the storm moved east. Still, heavy rain was likely in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area as well as the Atlantic Coast.

A forecast issued late Wednesday by the National Weather Service showed a 40 percent chance that the Red River will top the 2009 record of just under 41 feet.

Fargo City Administrator Pat Zavoral said he's confident the area will be protected. He said a forecast closer to 44 feet would have made things "a little dicey."

The Associated Press contributed to this story

Related:

Wild spring weather snarls parts of country

This story was originally published on Thu Apr 18, 2013 11:31 PM EDT

Ed Andrieski / AP

Two women share an umbrella to ward off snow as they walk the 16th Street Mall during the noon hour in Denver on Wednesday, April 17, 2013.

Severe thunderstorms, large hail and possible tornadoes menaced a swath of the country from northern Texas to St. Louis, Missouri, on Wednesday, while heavy rains in northern Illinois caused delays at Chicago-area airports and snow made for messy travel in Colorado.

The National Weather Service issued advisories of all types as harsh weather pelted the middle of the country throughout the day. 

Much of Oklahoma was under a tornado watch until late Wednesday as intense storms ravaged the Texas-Oklahoma border. That tornado watch extends north through St. Louis and central Illinois.

"There could be really strong storms later tonight, and that's always scary. That could be the case in central Oklahoma," said Carl Parker, a storm specialist for The Weather Channel.

A flash flood warning was in effect in northern Illinois, causing airport delays and cancellations. O'Hare International Airport reported delays averaging almost one hour, with more than 300 flight cancellations due to weather, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.

At Chicago Midway International Airport, airlines were reporting some delays of 30 minutes or more, with a few flight cancellations.

Meanwhile out west, Colorado was still dealing with the lingering effects of heavy snowfall, which had created messy driving conditions. Multiple accidents Wednesday afternoon led the state's Department of Transportation to shutdown westbound traffic for a portion of Interstate 70.

Inbound flights to Denver International Airport were delayed an average of 2 hours 16 minutes Wednesday evening, according to tracking site FlightAware.com. Outbound flights were experiencing delays of about 45 minutes.

Areas around Denver were expected to receive 3 to 6 inches of new snow by the end of Wednesday.

It’s the winter that wouldn’t die.

Five days into spring, a winter storm raked the Midwest and Northeast on Monday, turning commutes messy and threatening to dump up to 4 inches of snow around Philadelphia and Washington.

The good news: Temperatures hovering at or just above freezing should hold accumulations down.

“The roads are in pretty good shape this morning because, after all, it is March,” Weather Channel meteorologist Mike Seidel said from Frederick, Md.

More coverage from weather.com

During the morning drive, the storm was dropping snow across a curlicue swath of the country, from the Mid-Atlantic coast back through the southern Great Lakes and down into the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky and Tennessee.

In New York and parts of New Jersey, a winter weather advisory was in effect for most of Monday, and snow and rain showers continued through late afternoon and wind down by early evening.

"I'm ready for flip flops," said Jessica Cunitz, 24 of Westchester County, N.Y., who stopped at a gas station along Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania to fill her overheating car with antifreeze. "It's supposed to be spring."

In Philadelphia, rain during the morning commute was expected to change to a wintry mix that will last for most of the day. Untreated roads could turn slippery, said Brittney Shipp, a meteorologist for NBC affiliate WCAU.

And in Hamburg, Pa. — which has seen three here-and-gone snowfalls in little more than a week — carpet installer Seth Hanna drank coffee and surveyed the slush from a covered front porch.

"We got these warm days a few weeks ago, and everybody got their hopes up. March is supposed to be out like a lamb but it's not doing it," said Hanna, 30. "I love the snow, but I'm ready for some warm spring weather."

Jewel Samad / AFP - Getty Images

A woman removes snow from her driveway Monday in Silver Spring, Md. A messy Monday is in store for millions along the East Coast.

Inside the Washington Beltway, forecasters called for a mix of rain and snow, with accumulations of less than an inch. North and west of the capital, 2 to 4 inches of snow was expected — and perhaps as much as 8 inches west of Interstate 81.

Over the weekend, the same storm system pounded parts of the Rocky Mountains east to the Ohio Valley. Denver got almost a foot of snow, and Goodland, Kan., reported 15 inches.

On Friday, a qualifying match for the 2014 World Cup outside Denver was played in near-blizzard conditions — so much snow that officials had to bring in a yellow-and-purple soccer ball.

The United States beat Costa Rica 1-0, and Costa Rica has asked the governing body of soccer to order a replay.

At the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, people waiting in line for tickets to this week's arguments on gay marriage held umbrellas or put tarps over their belongings as the snow fell. Darienn Powers wore a trash bag from the waist down to keep dry, but said the snow still made everything "a little wet and uncomfortable."

The spring snow was not expected to affect Washington's famous cherry blossoms. National Park Service spokeswoman Carol Johnson said the flowering trees are still expected to reach peak bloom between April 3 and April 6.

Mitchell Gaines, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, N.J., said colder-than-normal temperatures the past few weeks had created conditions ripe for snow.

"It's fairly late in March to see a system like this," he said.

And the untimely blast of cold and snowy conditions could also harm parts of the U.S. winter wheat growing area, with widespread freeze damage feared in some of the more mature fields, experts said.

"I think we'll certainly have some (freeze damage)," said Travis Miller, an agronomist at Texas A&M University. "We did not dodge a bullet. It is a mess out there, both from freeze and drought."

It will take several days after the freeze passes to determine the extent of plant-tissue damage, wheat experts said, with areas where wheat fields were maturing quickly seen suffering the most harm. 

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story

This story was originally published on Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:57 PM EDT

Mike Groll / AP

A pedestrian walks along a snow-covered street on Wednesday, Jan. 16 in Albany, N.Y.

A winter storm brought snow and freezing rain into the Northeast on Wednesday, causing hazardous morning commutes and prompting school closings and delays.

The storm flooded some roadways in and around New York with heavy rains and dumped nearly a foot of snow in the Hudson Valley, NBCNewYork.com reported.

“Right now, we have light snow in New York, light snow in New Jersey, with heavier snow to the north in Worcester (Mass.), and snow coming down in Boston pretty heavy as well,” forecaster Tom Niziol said on the Weather Channel Wednesday. “Visibility is down to a quarter of a mile in Worcester and Boston right now.”

Up to six inches of snow fell from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts and Maine, while the New York City metropolitan area was glazed by sleet that turned into rain, leaving at least an inch of slush, according to AccuWeather.com.

Stay up to date with current weather conditions at The Weather Channel.

The brief storm offered a taste of the frigid conditions in store later this week when an arctic air mass from Canada is expected to roll into New England, said AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.

The messy weather prompted hundreds of school closings and delayed openings in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, including 600 throughout Connecticut alone, NBCConnecticut.com reported.

It also delayed flights into and out of Boston, New York and Philadelphia, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

In Boston, flights at Logan Airport were delayed 30 to 45 minutes, according to the FAA flight delay information map. People traveling through New York’s La Guardia Airport were delayed an average of one hour and 35 minutes, and traffic destined for Philadelphia International Airport was delayed an average of 59 minutes.

The South, meantime, was being hit by an ice storm.

“Freezing rain will continue through Wednesday morning in parts of the South, mainly across the Lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys,” the National Weather Service said on its website.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related stories:

LA sees record low as cold front maintains grip

Latest news from weather.com