File photo of vessels on the Mississippi River south of New Orleans on Nov. 5, 2017. (Dave Bedard photo)

Low water on Mississippi to persist despite improved drought outlook

Risk of getting stuck mean less grain per barge

Chicago | Reuters — Low water levels on the lower Mississippi River are likely to persist through at least January despite expected above-normal precipitation across the southern U.S. this winter, forecasters with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said on Thursday. The severe to exceptional drought choking the lower Mississippi River valley is expected to […] Read more

A drone photo from the Sampona commune of Madagascar on Feb. 11, 2022, shows Zebu cattle drinking water from a large puddle created from Cyclone Batsirai. The island nation’s south has been experiencing severe drought for the past four years, putting it in danger of what the World Food Programme calls “the world’s first climate change famine.” (Photo: Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis)

Last year tied as world’s fifth-warmest on record, U.S. scientists say

Global CO2 emissions continue to rise

Brussels | Reuters — Last year was the world’s joint fifth-warmest on record and the last nine years were the nine warmest since pre-industrial times, putting the 2015 Paris Agreement’s goal to limit global warming to 1.5 C in serious jeopardy, U.S. scientists said on Thursday. Last year tied with 2015 as the fifth-warmest year […] Read more

File photo of vessels on the Mississippi River south of New Orleans on Nov. 5, 2017. (Dave Bedard photo)

Shallow Mississippi River expected to persist as dry winter hits U.S. South

River levels at historic lows this fall

Reuters — Low water levels on the Mississippi River are likely to persist this winter as drier-than-normal weather is expected across the southern U.S. and Gulf Coast, U.S. government forecasters said on Thursday. Drought, which currently spans 59 per cent of the country, is expected to continue or worsen in the middle and lower Mississippi […] Read more

Seeding in southwestern Manitoba in the spring of 2021. (Manitoba Co-operator file photo by Alexis Stockford)

Last year was world’s sixth-warmest on record, U.S. scientists say

Heat content of oceans at record level, NOAA says

Reuters — Last year ranked as the sixth-warmest year on record, causing extreme weather events around the world and adding to evidence supporting the globe’s long-term warming, according to an analysis on Thursday by two U.S. government agencies. The data compiled by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA also revealed that […] Read more

Sea surface temperature anomalies over the Pacific Ocean in degrees Celsius for the week centred on Oct. 13, 2021. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

Another La Nina winter predicted

Polar vortex to chill Prairies, more snow further east, AccuWeather says

Data compiled by a U.S. federal weather forecasting agency show La Nina conditions have developed over the central Pacific Ocean and are likely to linger through February. And La Nina, in turn, is expected to produce hard cold snaps over the Prairies, above-normal precipitation over southern British Columbia and relatively mild temperatures with more snow […] Read more


Snow and ice cover in North America as of Nov. 22, 2020. (NOAA.gov)

Most of Prairies already covered in snow

MarketsFarm — Most of the Canadian Prairies were already blanked in snow by late November, with the deepest snowpack in Alberta and Saskatchewan, according to data compiled by Environment Canada and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Aside from the Rocky Mountains and some areas around the Great Lakes, the U.S. was largely […] Read more

(Qingwa/iStock/Getty Images)

USDA’s July WASDE has little effect on markets

U.S. Midwest weather likely having greater effect

MarketsFarm — There were some notable changes in the carryovers for corn, soybeans and wheat in the July supply and demand report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture released Friday. However, the monthly world agriculture supply and demand estimates (WASDE) had very little effect on the markets, according to MarketsFarm analyst Mike Jubinville. “I think […] Read more

File photo of a flooded North Dakota highway. (DLerick/E+/Getty Images)

Heavy North Dakota snows threaten wheat seeding

Chicago | Reuters — A blanket of heavy, wet snow covering most of North Dakota, the top U.S. wheat state, threatens to delay planting of spring wheat in another blow to a U.S. farm belt already facing billions of dollars in damage from flooding. Farmers from Missouri to South Dakota have seen their corn and […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. grain shippers await El Nino dryness after unseasonable flood

Chicago | Reuters –– The clear Midwestern skies that El Nino cycles typically bring could be a boon to the U.S. heartland this spring, after recent record rain levels soaked the region, swamping farmland and disrupting grain export shipments on swollen rivers. Farm fields across the Midwest are saturated, according to the U.S. Department of […] Read more

U.S. winter weather to see El Nino’s influence

U.S. winter weather to see El Nino’s influence

Tampa | Reuters — Much of the U.S. South can expect a cooler and wetter winter, while warmer-than-usual temperatures are likely across many northern and western states, as a strong El Nino weather pattern shaped a government weather outlook issued Thursday. More rain and snow are likely across the nation’s southern regions, extending from central […] Read more