Wind
High winds have posed plenty of problems for farmers trying to spray, and even plant, this spring. NOAA says it’s one of the windiest starts to the season on record, but the bigger question is how long will it last?
ENSO-neutral means conditions could be close to average, but Eric Snodgrass, Nutrien’s principal atmospheric scientist, says that doesn’t mean the weather will be normal this spring and summer with growing concerns about drought.
There have been 469 tornadoes, 3,475 severe wind events and 1,640 severe hail events reported in the U.S. during the month of May. Meterologists say to expect more as the country transitions to a La Niña.
Major winter storms are on the way early next week. With the possibility of blizzard conditions to flooding in the southeast, the impact on agriculture could be two-fold: good news for drought but stress to livestock.
Hurricane-force winds swept from northern Missouri and Iowa all the way east to Illinois and Indiana. The derecho brought wind gusts up to 100 mph, flattening cornfields, but it also drenched soils with crucial rains.
Winds topping 55 mph, along with dry soils, recently planted fields and the direction of the fierce winds, all created the “perfect storm” to cause the major dust storm that turned fatal Monday in Illinois.
State police said the pileups were caused by “excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway, resulting in zero visibility.”
To put cover crop investments in motion, NRCS would draw on federal, state and private conservationists to hire “thousands” of employees for rural America.
Farmers and ranchers have had to endure high winds for months. The powerful gusts haven’t just been annoying; it’s caused disasters across the U.S. High winds have been the culprit of wildfires and more.