Market Impact Weather

OMAHA (DTN) -- Light rain for northeastern Brazil, and variable precipitation in Argentina, are the key weather items for the commodity trade's attention Thursday.

ARCTIC COLD FOR MIDWEST

The DTN ag weather forecast calls for Arctic-origin cold air to cover most of the Midwest through the weekend. The cold will hinder transportation and combine with some precipitation to cause deterioration in corn stored in outside piles. The cold is not expected to damage soft red winter wheat, but it will bear watching. A return to warmer weather and more rainfall is indicated in the forecast during next week.

CONTINUED SOUTHERN PLAINS DRYNESS

Southern Plains wheat areas have continued dryness. A round of light snow in portions of the region early Thursday will bring very little in the way of moisture. The region has no significant precipitation indicated in the forecast through the next seven-to-10 days.

HARSH NORTHERN PLAINS COLD

In the Northern Plains, extreme cold remains as a forecast feature through the weekend. The cold will be stressful to livestock. Very little snow is expected, which will allow for continued roadway clearing following heavy snow over the New Year holiday. The severity of the cold will continue to bring some transportation delays, however.

VARIABLE BRAZIL RAIN

Rainfall in Brazil's crop areas remains highly variable. Central and southern locales have a generally favorable trend, with more showers forecast through the end of the week. The northeastern portion, however, is dry with little improvement indicated in the forecast through the next five days.

MORE RAIN FOR CENTRAL ARGENTINA

In central Argentina, recent and forecasted moderate-to-heavy rain in key corn and soybean areas will maintain adequate to surplus moisture for these crops while also increasing the risk of flooding, especially in Santa Fe province. Meanwhile, less rainfall and higher temperatures bring the potential for dry-weather stress to sunflowers and double-crop soybeans in southwestern and south-central Argentina.

EUROPE COLD WAVE

A northeast to southwest flow between western Russia and south-central Europe will send sharply colder weather well to the south over Europe.

Unusually cold conditions as far south as southern Italy and Greece during the coming days may cause problems for a crop area not normally this cold during the winter.

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

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