NCI Market Update Webinar Series: Weather Edition | Featuring Daryl Ritchison

Daryl Ritchison, Director of North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN).

The Northern Crops Institute (NCI) hosted another Market Update webinar earlier today. This episode was a special Weather Edition featuring Daryl Ritchison, Director of the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN). He discussed many subjects concerning the weather outlook for different parts of the world and the impacts they’ll likely have on agriculture in each of those places.

Ritchison began his presentation in typical fashion by introducing what NDAWN is and what they do. NDAWN has monitoring stations all throughout North Dakota, Western and Central Minnesota, and Eastern Montana. They offer reports and information regarding weather forecasts for the region to farmers and citizens alike.

ENSO model predictions for continuing La Niña conditions.

Once Ritchison completed his brief introduction of NDAWN, he moved into discussing this past summer’s conditions (June-August) on a global scale. During this time, a third La Niña occurred, which followed two consecutive La Niña events in the two years prior. This is predicted to influence the average temperatures of the oceans as time passes; as the graphic to the left shows, they’re forecasted by the ENSO model to be cooler than average once again.

This is also said to affect precipitation around the globe. During these La Niña events, various areas around the world are either drier or wetter than average. This also applies to temperatures, which also experience a similar pattern. This temperature is also, at least in North America, set to be influenced by the variable Polar Jet Stream during the wintertime. For example, in the Northern Plains region (where North Dakota lies), it’s forecasted to be colder than average due to the La Niña event. Though, he was quick to point out that this year’s La Niña event is much stronger than last year’s La Niña was – they’re not one of the same.

September 2022 precipitation for the United States.

Summer precipitation in the United States was, overall, slightly below average for a large portion of the country (though, it should be noted that it was actually much higher than average in the Southwestern United States). These dryer-than-average conditions were especially seen in the central region of the country, which was the cause of the widespread drought felt across North Dakota and neighboring states. For this month, however, this drier-than-average trend not only continues…it actually worsens. As the graphic shows, the drier conditions worsen across much of the country, with the central region feeling the greatest impact.

For South America, the opposite is true. For most of the continent, precipitation levels are average or above average. Though, certain areas are still below average in this regard, with some areas actually experiencing a severe drought as we speak. This also translates to most of the continent having low soil moisture, as well. Ritchison predicted that there’s a better chance of moisture in the North than the South areas of the continent (spurred by the La Niña event), but that the dry conditions in the South would likely continue for the time being…or potentially even worsen.

September 2022 precipitation for Europe.

To conclude, Ritchison looked at the conditions in Europe. Here, the weather is similar to the U.S. in terms of precipitation. Most areas are dry or average, though areas in the Northern region are well above average. Again, certain areas are in a severe drought, which will likely continue for a while. Temperatures are near average for the most part, but certain areas are slightly above average, and are therefore warmer. Ritchison predicted that Southern areas will once again favor drier and cooler air, with winter forecasted to be slightly above average for temperatures across the contient.  

These market updates were created to engage with past and present course participants and offer market insight to those professionals. By providing this pertinent information on various topics, NCI has fostered growth and learning worldwide. NCI greatly appreciates contributions from speakers like Daryl Ritchison during these Market Update webinars.

For more information about future webinars offered at NCI, click here.    

To view today’s webinar, click the recording below.