Commodities Market Impact Weather

MINNEAPOLIS (DTN) -- An active pattern with a monster storm for the U.S. next week followed by much colder air, heavy rainfall in central Brazil and continued good weather in Argentina are the weather factors driving the markets Thursday.

HEAVY SNOW AND BLIZZARD POTENTIAL FOR MIDWEST NEXT WEEK

A couple of systems may scrape through the Midwest this week and weekend with largely minor areas of precipitation. The southern Midwest could see some areas of more moderate precipitation Friday and Saturday, which would be a mix of rain and snow. A storm system that goes through next week is forecast to be much more significant with impacts including a stripe of heavy snow and potential blizzard conditions for some areas. The greatest risks are from Missouri through lower Michigan. Another storm that follows for late next week will send temperatures plummeting across the region, especially in the west -- a big flip from the near-record warm December.

LARGE STORMS MOVING THROUGH CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS

The storm track is setting up over the Central and Southern Plains and will bring several storms through over the next couple of weeks. A moderate storm system will bring a mix of rain and snow to the region Thursday and Friday, and then a larger system forecast for early next week may bring another blizzard with snowfall possible as far south as Texas. The panhandles through northern Missouri are most at risk for heavy snow. Another system that follows mid-to-late next week will send temperatures plummeting for mid-January.

NORTHERN PLAINS EYEING POLAR VORTEX VISIT NEXT WEEK

Relatively quiet conditions are likely for the next week as systems miss off to the north and south, though some light snow may move through Friday and Saturday. A strong system early next week will miss the region but one shortly behind it should send temperatures falling well below normal for mid-January as winter finally shows up.

MORE RAIN COMING FOR DELTA

The El Nino storm track brought a system through Wednesday with isolated showers and will bring another on Friday into Saturday with more widespread showers. A much larger storm is forecast for next week and may contain severe weather. Water levels on the Mississippi River have been up and down over the last several weeks with storm systems improving conditions for a while, followed by a period of lower flow, but the active weather should be more helpful.

HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUES IN CENTRAL BRAZIL

Widespread heavy rain has fallen in central Brazil the last several days and continues through most of next week as well, especially from Mato Grosso to Minas Gerais. Southern areas will be drier until a system comes north from Argentina on Monday, followed by several waves of showers for mid-January. Recent drier weather in the south has been favorable overall for draining excessive moisture in the region, but a return to seasonable rainfall would be preferred for developing to filling crops.

GOOD WEATHER FOR ARGENTINA

Frequent rainfall over the last several weeks has put much of the corn and soybean crop in Argentina in a good place, with some of the long-season corn reaching reproduction with full soil moisture. Rainfall will continue to be light the next few days but still occurs for limited areas in the south. Rainfall is forecast to increase this weekend and should come at a regular clip for next week with several disturbances moving through. Weather continues to favor both corn and soybeans.

NEEDED PRECIPITATION FOR SOUTHERN EUROPE

The pattern continues to be active across Europe with several systems going through. But the storm track shifts to southward and eastward for the next week. A couple of systems moving through the Mediterranean should help some drier areas in Spain and Italy with vegetative wheat.

John Baranick can be reached at john.baranick@dtn.com.

(c) Copyright 2024 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.