Soaring temperatures and scarce rain portended another blistering weekend for much of the US Midwest, where the most extensive drought since 1956 is devastating crops.
Violent storms brought rain to the extreme eastern portions of the US corn belt in Ohio earlier this week, but moisture was sparse further west.
The mercury soared in Missouri, where St Louis was expected to reach 38C (101F).
Drought is affecting nearly all of east-central Missouri, central and western Illinois and much of Iowa, all major corn and soybean producing states.
Farther west in Kansas City temperatures were expected to move back over 38C tomorrow as residents looked for ways to conserve water.
In Missouri, more than 600 farmers have applied for state funds to drill new wells, deepen existing wells or expand irrigation systems under a programme for livestock and crop farmers severely hit by drought, Governor Jay Nixon said.
In Kansas, Governor Sam Brownback objected to federal officials releasing water from three Kansas reservoirs to keep the Missouri River navigable and protect endangered birds.
A spokesperson said Mr Brownback preferred to keep the reservoirs as high as possible to conserve water for farmers and communities drawing from them.
A year ago, the Missouri River flooded parts of Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri, tearing up levees and roads and inundating fields.
After flooding last year, the Mississippi River is now so low that barge operators must lighten loads to avoid getting stuck.
Extreme conditions are killing fish by the thousands in lakes and rivers and could pose a problem for migrating ducks and other waterfowl if the drought stretches into the fall, officials said.
Nationwide, fishing losses could run from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars depending on how long the drought lasts and how widespread it is, said Dan Stephenson, an Illinois state fisheries biologist.
Damage to corn, soybean and wheat crops is expected to push food prices higher in the US and around the world. The US is the world's largest exporter of corn, soybeans and wheat.
Meteorologists say that over the next week, soaring temperatures and little rain were in store for crops in most of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri.
Farmers planted corn and soybeans earlier than usual this year after a warmer than normal winter, but conditions have rapidly deteriorated.
All of Iowa was in severe drought or worse, according to the weekly US Drought Monitor for the week ending 24 July issued by climatologists, and almost 30% of the nine-state Midwest was suffering extreme drought.
