Drew Lerner, Author at World Weather

U.S. Midwest, Plains Heat To Pressure Summer Crop Yields

Kansas City, June 21 (World Weather Inc.) – El Nino’s influence on the world is over and the late April through early June wet bias in the U.S. Midwest is gone except in the northwestern Corn and Soybean Belt where the ground is too wet and flooding is likely with the next waves of rain. The return of neutral ENSO conditions will allow North America weather to fall back to being influenced by the lunar (18-year) and 45-day weather cycles with some eventual influence from negative Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), a weak subtropical high pressure system in the Atlantic Ocean and (eventually) La Nina. All of that influence favors a warmer than usual summer with less than usual rainfall in the Great Plains portions of the Midwest and the Atlantic Coast States. Corn and soybean yields, however will be more influenced by temperatures than anything else this summer and the odds favor more heat “at times” than that seen in recent years possibly pressuring those yields slightly below the trend line especially for corn.

China’s North China Plain Remains Dry; Late June Rain Possible

Kansas City, June 20 (World Weather Inc.) – Spotty rainfall was noted in portions of the North China Plain and central Yellow River Basin in recent days. The rain was too light to significantly improve the moisture profile and notable moisture deficits persist. The Chinese Meteorological Agency has the region in a significant drought. The region will again have a few opportunities for spotty rain during the coming week. The environment will remain less than favorable to poor for the coarse grains, oilseeds, cotton, and other crops without greater rain. Concern for reduced production will increase due to the ongoing dryness. Other production areas in China will receive rain on a frequent basis during the coming week. Crop development conditions will be generally favorable outside the wettest pockets in the Yangtze River Basin and southwestern China.

U.S. Upper Midwest Wet Bias To Linger Into Next Week

Kansas City, June 20 (World Weather Inc.) – The upper-level high-pressure ridge that brought excessive heat to eastern North America during the past several days will gradually propagate westerly during the coming week. This upper-level pattern brought several waves of rain to the Upper Midwest and bolstered soil moisture to adequate or excessive levels. While the rain was beneficial for long-term corn and soybean prospects, late-season planting and general fieldwork were delayed. Additional rain is likely into this weekend and then the precipitation will become less frequent and less significant for a while, although the region will stay abundantly to excessively wet. The lower and eastern Midwest will not be nearly as wet and dryness will continue a concern.