Commodities Market Impact Weather

MINNEAPOLIS (DTN) -- A system moving through the U.S. with needed showers in the Southern Plains, and widespread showers in South America are the weather factors driving the markets Wednesday.

ANOTHER SYSTEM COMING FOR MIDWEST

A cold front brought scattered showers to the Midwest the last couple of days and exited the east on Wednesday. Though temperatures have decreased behind the front, they are still above normal. Another storm system will move through Thursday into the weekend with more widespread precipitation and chances for snow in some areas. Both systems should help with building moisture. Temperatures remain warm going into mid-March and may coax some early planting across the south in the next couple of weeks if the forecast is benign. However, colder temperatures are forecast for the last 10 days or so of the month.

SYSTEM BRINGING SHOWERS TO CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS

A system will move through the Central and Southern Plains Wednesday night through Friday with widespread scattered showers. That may include some pockets of snow, mostly in the High Plains, but will add to soil moisture for helping to fight any outstanding wildfires. It will also help to replace soil moisture losses due to higher winds and temperatures that have sapped it from the topsoil recently, beneficial for wheat.

NORTHERN PLAINS COOLER WITH SNOW

Some cooler air will remain around the next couple of days before rising again this weekend. In the cooler air, more showers will be possible through Thursday, mostly as some light snow.

MORE SHOWERS MOVING THROUGH DELTA

Above-normal temperatures continue in the Delta through mid-March while a couple of systems bring more rainfall through the region this week. The combination of good soil moisture and warm temperatures may coax some early planting in the region over the next couple of weeks. However, a burst of colder air is likely to come in later this month, which could turn around ideas for early planting.

OVERALL GOOD SHOWERS IN BRAZIL

Wet season showers in central Brazil continue to be widely scattered into next week, favorable for emerging safrinha corn. A front in southern Brazil will continue to be active the next few days as well as it bends around the region, favoring an increase in soil moisture for immature long-season crops and for the newly planted safrinha corn.

ACTIVE PERIOD FOR ARGENTINA

Northern Argentina will continue to see showers with a front stuck in the area through Thursday. Another front will move in southern areas on Wednesday with more waves of showers moving northward through the weekend. The rainfall should be favorable for most areas but is also scattered enough that it may miss some key areas across the south that could use some more rain. The overall pattern is favorable for reproductive to filling corn and soybeans, however.

WHEAT AWAKENING IN GOOD CONDITION IN BLACK SEA

A front coming down from the north will bring in some colder air to the Black Sea region this weekend and next week, but models are keeping anything intense farther north and east. Any drop in temperatures should not have a dramatic effect on wheat which is still awakening from dormancy for the most part. Instead, a system will move through next week that should spread more meaningful moisture for the crop that is already in good condition.

MORE RAIN FOR WESTERN AND SOUTHERN EUROPE

The main low-pressure center continues to reload and bring more systems into Western Europe going into next week. Models have backed off on the threat of colder air moving into eastern areas for next week, though a drop from the significant warmth is still likely. Still, conditions are mostly favorable as wheat continues to exit dormancy in many areas. France continues to be too wet though.

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

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