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Snodgrass: El Nino, soil moisture top weather concerns this month

An atmospheric scientist says he’s keeping a close on several weather issues the rest of the month.

Eric Snodgrass says the switch to El Nino is at the top of the list.

“A lot of talk about El Nino and its strength,” he said. “It’s a much, much bigger factor come fall, winter, and spring. We’re going to have more and more of a discussion about the size and strength of this El Nino, which could be historic.”

He tells Brownfield monitoring soil moisture is also a major priority.

“Basically, the more moist the soil is the lower the risk is of having major extended heat episodes throughout the Corn Belt.”

Snodgrass says he encourages producers to track ocean temperatures in the Northeastern Pacific.

“Long story short there, the colder they get the greater the risk is of July heat. The warmer they get the lower the risk of July heat for us. Right now they are relatively warm. A lot of that is pointing to maybe a risk-off scenario for the corn crop as we head toward pollination.”

Snodgrass serves as chief atmospheric scientist for Nutrien Ag Solutions.