I just read that the two flattest states are Florida and Illinois, which have been my homes my entire life. That doesn’t lead to dramatic landscapes, so thankfully both have great clouds. For Illinois, the most dramatic are this time of year as humidity fills the air and storms role across what had once been prairie and is now mostly corn or soybean farmland.
Sheets of rain, Livingston County, Illinois
Farmhouse and soybeans under the darkening sky
Livingston County in north central Illinois produced the third largest soybean crop in the state at nearly 17 million bushels, and the second largest corn crop at 63 million bushels. It has two of the state’s largest prisons—Pontiac for men and Dwight for women. Central Illinois was also ground zero of the founding of the Republican Party, and since 1856 a majority has only voted for one Democratic candidate—Franklin Roosevelt in 1932.
Livingston County corn
The biggest structures in the farm belt are the towering silos such as this gathering right along the state road and the rail line.
Silo swirl, Livingston County, Illinois