The southwestern U.S. and wheat-rich southern Plains are facing extreme drought right now, hampering development ahead of the crop heading into dormancy. There may be relief soon, with the convergence of a trough and ridge in the Pacific Ocean potentially pushing a moisture-bearing system into the region in the coming days. Meanwhile, snowfall will be a feature of the weather from Montana east to Minnesota. A volatile pattern in the Midwest — with potentially severe weather in parts of Iowa and Illinois — rounds out a weather outlook with a lot of change in the works for much of the country. See more of the latest technical weather analysis from ag meteorologist Eric Snodgrass.