Month: December 2018

It seems like every time we go a couple of weeks with little or no snowfall people start asking questions about how unusual that is.  This region tends to average only between 5 to 10 inches of snow most of the months during the winter.  Plus, much of that average come from just one or… Read more One Storm

From December 1 through February 28, average precipitation in this area is only around 2” in eastern North Dakota and only around 1.5 inches in western North Dakota.  Snow amounts almost always get the most attention, but it is the liquid within the snow that is the most important when it comes to climate.  Put… Read more Dry

With the mild temperatures this weekend has melted a lot of the snow that we recorded last week. Depending on your location you either have very little snow on the ground or none at all.  There are some pockets with a few inches on the ground but that is the exception rather thanthe rule.  In turn… Read more White Christmas

Yesterday I was given the opportunity to speak at the Prairie Grains conference in Grand Forks. Several individuals asked me about my thought on the weather and in turn the crop production may be in Brazil and Argentina.  My answer is I think Brazil will end up with production similar to last year based on the… Read more South America

Last year, Argentina in particular suffered from dry conditions that impacted much of their key agricultural areas.   That was not surprising because dry conditions are more common in far southern South America where there is a La Nina present in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.  This winter there is a weak El Nino present and historically… Read more Argentina

Our quiet weather pattern should continue for the next week.  There will be a couple of small disturbances, but no big storm anywhere near this region is expected.  A trough of low pressure will develop in the Pacific Northwest and in turn the northern plains will be under a ridge of highpressure.  That will in… Read more Quiet

Some people love a good snow storm, others hope we can get through a winter with as little as possible. From an agricultural perspective, we have been somewhat fortunate the heavy snow we have recorded came in October when we had time to melt them and still do some harvesting.  A huge snowstorm, like the ones… Read more Quiet Weather

To use Fargo as an example, this past autumn, September through November was the 12th coldest on record.  Meaning, it was not your imagination that it has been cold, even by our standards for the past several weeks.  The cold in turn enhanced the lack of evaporation potential this autumn.  It felt wet, and there… Read more Cold Autumn

There are still crops that need to be harvested, but slowly that process is ending.  If there is any positive news to be had about still trying to finish the 2018 harvest in December is that the recent big snow events missed us.  The weather this week outside of some light snow in places today… Read more Long Harvest

Although we are still three weeks from the winter solstice our sunset times are now pretty much at the earliest they are going to reach.  Most locations will only lose one or maybe two more minutes before the sunsets begin to increase.  In fact, sunsets start to increase before the winter solstice.  Yes, the total… Read more Shortest Days