Weather forecast threatens US crops

Cold weather in the North and an early wildfire season in the South have disrupted the U.S. planting season.

Mart1n | FreeImages.com
Mart1n | FreeImages.com

Cold weather in the North and an early wildfire season in the South have disrupted the U.S. planting season.

Wet, cool conditions and late freezes

Planting in the Pacific and Upper Midwest has been delayed due to continued wet, cool conditions which will cause disruption come harvest season. It could, however, protect vulnerable crops from predicted late freezes. 

“It is actually looking more likely that we could see some very late frost and freezes stretching from the interior Northwest into parts of the Northwestern half of the plains and even into the far upper Midwest,” said USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey in a radio broadcast May 17. 

If these freezes do occur, then a late planting could mean vulnerable crops will not have emerged, which could minimize damage. Frost and freezes could also damage Northwestern fruit crops like apples. 

Record-breaking heat and wildfires 

Record-breaking heat in southern states has been beneficial in part as it has dried previously soaked fields. This has resulted in a “more than doubling of the corn planting pace from 22% to 49% during the week ending May 15,” Rippey said. 

To give an example of the record-breaking temperatures, “Abilene, Texas during the first half of May, had eight triple digit days, meaning temperatures were 100 degrees or higher, and a peak during that time – 107 degrees – which is very close to an all-time May record,” Rippey said. “And that is emblematic of some of the extraordinary early season heat that we’ve seen of the drought areas of the south-central United States.”

The heat has also been contributing to this year’s early wildfire season. As of May 18, 11 uncontained large wildfires have burned through 452,210 acres of land, primarily in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas – three of which were reported in Texas May 17 – according to the National Interagency Fire Center. 

Most notably, New Mexico is experiencing its largest wildfire in state history – the Calf Canyon fire – which started April 19 and has burned 290,000 acres.  

Hurricane season

The official hurricane season begins June 1. However, for the past six consecutive years a named hurricane has occurred in the Atlantic Basin before that – including Bertha in 2020 and Ana in 2021. USDA meteorologists are monitoring weather patterns in the Atlantic Basin and will most likely have a more accurate prediction by Memorial Day weekend, according to Rippey. 

Page 1 of 51
Next Page