Rude Awakening for Crops, Livestock as Plains See Temperature Swing

 

It may seem unlikely, but a pair of typhoons in the Western Pacific may have contributed to the blast of cold air that is moving through the central US, according to an article this week in AgFax. According to the article, the typhoons helped build up a strong ridge of high pressure in the western US, which is contributing to the forest fires there. Downstream, in the central US, a large trough of low pressure is associated with the unseasonably cold air, which is bringing snow to the Front Range of the Rockies. Livestock are having a hard time acclimatizing to the rapid change from temperatures near 100 F to below freezing in just two days, and producers are worried about how they will handle the cold weather so early in the season. Fortunately, the cold outbreak is not expected to last long. You can read more here.