Martell: Weather Conditions Change as La Nina Fades

April 23, 2012

By: Julianne Johnston, Pro Farmer Digital Managing Editor

The following content was provided by meteorologist Gail Martell of MartellCropProjections.com:

As La Nina Fades, Weather Conditions Are Suddenly Different

The global winds and air pressure are in flux, as the La Nina fluctuation gradually fades away. Weather conditions in the United States and around the world have showed signs of change in April, opposite of March, as the La Nina effect has weakened. Below is a brief summary of how weather conditions have reversed in April:

Midwest Weather Shift: Showers have significantly increased in recent weeks in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota. At the same time, very dry April weather has occurred in the Eastern Midwest and Mid South. These changes reflect El Nino, along with much cooler weather in April, and frequent night frosts.

Drought Eases in Eastern Canadian Prairies: Precipitation has increased significantly in eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba in recent weeks, easing severe drought. Temperatures have trended sharply cooler in April with frequent hard freezes. This is the opposite of prevailing March conditions.

Western Europe Rain Relief: Above-normal rains have developed this month in Europe. This ends a period of intense drought in France, United Kingdom, Spain and Italy. While we do not have corroborating evidence that La Nina causes drought, it would appear so. The stretch between mid-January and the end of March was incredibly dry.

China Suddenly Warmer in Northeast Corn Belt: Warming in April in the key Northeast corn provinces is a sharp reversal from March, when cold prevailed. Rainfall has been mostly absent, both in Northeast China and winter wheat zone on the North China Plain, suggesting a lingering La Nina signal still exists.

European Russia Suddenly Warm and Dry: Sudden heat and dryness has developed in April in European Russia, an area that was persistent wet and cold through mid March. The new weather pattern is favorable for warming and drying of soggy fields, laden with heavy snowmelt. On the other hand, poor spring planting conditions from drought are anticipated in Russia’s eastern grain belt in Urals, Siberia and eastern Volga. A massive ridge of high pressure has been in control of weather in April.