WINTER RETURNING TO THE U.S.

[Ronnie Bradley]

Personally, I would like another good cold spell to kill off some bugs that have made a recent comeback in my vicinity. While cold air is unwelcome to most, due to the fact of it being cold, it needs to be cold to slow the moisture evaporating from the topsoil, and to keep trees and such from budding, only to be hit by a "surprise" freeze in late March / early April.
And talking about zonal flows, I like them only on one condition... if the flow weren't so bloody fast so that when a upper level low & trough blow through the area, there may be enough moisture for precipitation and not just a hi / bye as the Low ske-daddles across at mach 2 .
I would like a slow moving negative-tilt trough to slowly come my way but I will probably have to wait until spring for that, lol
In the meantime, I'll put up with that developing western ridge / central - eastern trough that may be setting up soon. Helooo cold temps!!!

 

[Justin Turcotte]

I understand that winter snow leads to spring melt which gets some soil moisture for crops. Since no crops in the Plains are growing right now I wonder how beneficial getting a foot of snow would be if its all going to sublimate before the growing season anyway. I would think those March and April rain or snow storms are far more important for soil moisture replenishment and agricultural interests. And even if the spring is wet you will still need well timed rains during the summer to get a good crop. If a farmer is ever going to experience a drought, by far the best time for it is during the winter. Perhaps all that snow in the Northern Rockies will help keep keep the cap temp a touch cooler for us folks in the Northern Plains this spring and summer which might allow for more storms to pop.

 

[Andrew Pritchard]

If a farmer is ever going to experience a drought, by far the best time for it is during the winter.

Very true. Here in Illinois, we recieved 10 or so inches of rain in the month of January in 2005, 5 inches above average. Many areas were under water for quite some time. However, that was it. We didnt really have a significant rain event until the tropical systems of September swung up this way. The corn crops which are certainly Illinois' biggest market were horribly dry. I'd much rather not get a lot of rain/snow during January, than have a ton but be bone dry the whole spring and summer.

 

[Jonathan Whitehead]

im replying to give this thread more exposure, just kinda as a reminder that things havent changed since the original posting.