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Winter Storm Cora smacks eastern U.S.

An ag meteorologist says Winter Storm Cora will bring lasting impacts for farmers into the spring.

Michigan State University’s Jeff Andresen tells Brownfield freezing temperatures should cause Great Lakes ice cover to near its peak for winter.

“It’s even faster than normal now because of the recent cold air, I think we’re going to be back up to normal,” he says. “And, it’s looking cold for probably much of the next one-and-a-half to two weeks, possibly longer than that.”

He says heavy snow across the eastern U.S. has the potential to alleviate dry conditions, with more than 55 percent of the Midwest currently in some form of drought.

Andresen says areas without snow cover are more likely to see reduced survival of overwintering pests and diseases.

“When we have an open winter with little or no snow, when we get these cold temperatures, we see the freezing depth and the frost line go much further,” he explains.

He says the thaw-out of the lakes could also lead to a delayed start to spring planting.

“In years that we have very, very heavy, extensive long duration ice cover, we typically see a lag effect in the warm-up of the spring,” he says. “All of that ice and the energy needed to consume, to melt it, it just slows things down.

Andresen says La Nina winters tend to have more snowfall in February and March and it’s likely not the last winter storm of the season.