Ag Weather Forum

Variable Argentina Rain

Bryce Anderson
By  Bryce Anderson , Ag Meteorologist Emeritus
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Central Argentina was mainly dry Feb. 17-18. Rain was featured in no more than a third of this area Feb. 19. (Servicio Meteorologica graphics)

The mid-February weekend, through Monday morning Feb. 19, has turned out to be another stretch with highly variable rain in central Argentina crop areas. The Feb. 17-18 period was mainly dry. Thunderstorms with locally heavy rain did form overnight Feb. 18 into Feb. 19 in what appears to be up to a third of the major crop belt, mainly in northwestern Buenos Aires.

This moisture is welcome, and helps to ease stress to crops. However, very-dry areas of Cordoba, Santa Fe, and Entre Rios had little if any of this moisture; only the southern part of Santa Fe had thunderstorm development indicated.

This highly-variable rainfall is in line with how the forecast models indicated the precipitation chances were for this weekend. Localized inch-plus rain was featured, with most of the central Argentina belt having well under a half-inch precipitation expected.

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Meanwhile, rain continues in Brazil, with some adverse impact on crops showing up. In an e-mail to DTN, Mato Grosso, Brazil producer and soybean association leader Ricardo Arioli Silva offered these details:

"Yields are good in some regions, not as good in some others ... My feeling is that we (in Mato Grosso) will have probably the same crop as last year, maybe a little less. Harvest during January-February is always complicated. That's the main rainy months. And it's raining, of course."

Forecast model indications keep much of Brazil wet, with again light showers featured in Argentina this week.

Bryce Anderson can be reached at Bryce.anderson@dtn.com

Follow him on Twitter @BAndersonDTN

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