Ag Weather Forum

A burst of summer heat is on its way out this week as a strong storm system moves through the North-Central U.S. and Canadian Prairies. Temperatures will fall dramatically behind the system.

Planting windows are wide open across the North-Central U.S. with warm, summerlike temperatures and little rainfall. How long will that last? And will that be a concern going into summer?

Sustained worldwide warming leads to sharp differences in the rates of drying and precipitation.

An upper-level low-pressure center will slowly meander through the middle of the country next week. Some heavy rain will be possible for the southern half of the Plains.

There is a setup for a major severe weather outbreak in the Upper Midwest on Monday. But will there be any significant storms?

Heavy Midwest spring precipitation has led to big improvements for row-crop moisture.

Although wetter conditions may delay fieldwork for some farmers, soil temperatures are also a consideration. For producers across the north, will those temperatures rise soon?

Below-average runoff forecast indicates reduced soil moisture in northwestern Corn Belt.

The Midwest and Mid-South face ongoing flooding with portions of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers still above flood stage. More rain forecast through April threatens to worsen conditions and could cause additional flooding.

Widespread warmth meant low coverage of sea ice and snow cover going into Northern Hemisphere spring.

A somewhat active pattern is forecast across the country for the next week, but models are not expecting a lot of precipitation out of it. Below-normal precipitation will help those recovering from flooding, but this will not be good for those in drought.

Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) values have moved from neutral in early March to La Nina in early April.

A long-duration storm has led to more than eight inches of rain for large portions of Arkansas into Kentucky. Other areas are also dealing with the fallout from large-scale flooding that will take a lot of time to work through the system.

Soil moisture loss due to sustained warming is feared to be irreversible.

The Storm Prediction Center is forecasting a tornado outbreak to occur along with massive hail and damaging winds as a cold front races eastward into the Mississippi Valley and Midwest on Wednesday.

Several systems and stalled fronts will cause an area of very heavy rainfall that could lead to historic flooding for portions of the Mid-South and Ohio Valley.

The DTN forecast shows below-normal temperatures for much of the Corn Belt in April, threatening to delay fieldwork and shorten planting windows. However, there are some signals that this forecast may bust.

Another big March spring storm is forecast to move through the country this weekend in several pieces. This will be the first of what looks like several storm systems to move through into early April.

La Nina looms as a primary influence in the Western Corn Belt drought projection through the beginning of summer.

Early spring 2025 finds the Southern Plains wheat crop in worse condition than at the end of 2024.