The Hottest Year on Record, But Not in the Corn Belt

Here's Justin Gillis in his usual fine reporting of climate issues, and the map below from NOAA, via the New York Times.

Note the "warming hole" over the Eastern U.S., especially the upper Midwest, the all important corn belt region.  We had a bumper crop this year, and that's because while most of the world was remarkably warm, the corn belt was remarkably cool, especially in summer.

Should we expect the good fortune to continue?  I honestly don't know...