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Cold coming back & spring might be wet again

A meteorologist says the unusual winter weather patterns so far this winter are not likely to create spring problems. Greg Soulje says, “It happened to be marginally cold enough, and the right setup on the dynamics to get that record-setting snow in parts of Missouri while much of the upper Midwest has been basically free of any substantial, long-lasting cold and or organized snow, but unless we continue in this particular setup, which we won’t, then there’s going to be no coralation between what we have now and the springtime season.”

Soulje tells Brownfield he sees a more traditional winter pattern moving in, which will make the final third of meteorological winter more normal.

As for parts of the corn belt like Missouri, Soulje says another winter storm is taking shape, but different from the last one. “I think we’re going to see much like we had last year, sort of an extended late winter or delayed spring season around here, but back to the shorter term of it, I do anticipate another wide and far-reaching snow event of different character, but basically again, lined up on that I-70 corridor and a pretty uniform shot at maybe a foot of snow.” But, he expects this to be more of a powdery, wind-driven snow with more blowing and drifting.

For much of the Great Lakes states where snowfall has been below normal, Soulje expects late storms to make up for that. “The very active and at times moisture-laden weather pattern winding our way through February into March, and probably extending into springtime assuming this El Nino winds on down, and we move into at least a neutral-state atmosphere, which usually means a fair amount of moisture.”

Soulje says if farmers are concerned about pests surviving the warmer-than-average winter, the upcoming cold spell should take care of them. “A very penetrating-type cold will put some frost and freeze into the ground, killing off those critters, if you will, and so for folks wanting to get cold in the ground before we add the snow cover and snow pack, your wish will be granted.”

And for the Great Lakes states where the ground was saturated when it froze, Soulje says farmers could be looking at a repeat of last spring’s wet field conditions. “From this vantage point, I would anticipate probably a delayed start, or at least a wetter access to many fields throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan here as we get deeper into the beginning of spring season and fieldwork season.”

Soulje tells Brownfield that if El Nino moves out and we get a brief La Nina system in the spring, it could lead to some stretches of severe weather and an increased possibility for both replanting and long delays for field work, especially from the Dakotas to Lake Michigan.