E245: First Look at Summer Weather

Just a few months ago, meteorologists at DTN and beyond were expressing concern about wide swaths of drought across key U.S. growing reasons, and the likelihood of a hot and dry summer set to exacerbate the situation. Now, after an unexpectedly wet and temperate start to the season, substantial drought is largely gone and conditions look good for the summer. But changes may still be on the horizon, and DTN’s Ag Meteorologist John Baranick joins us today with the latest on what could still be a tough rest of the year.Today, we’ll start with a look back over Spring conditions, how they varied from region to region, and why they were so unexpected given global conditions. Then, we’ll dive into the current forecast, what farmers across the country can expect for the rest of June, and dig into the likely conditions in the heart of summer. We’ll expand our focus beyond the corn belt and plains, taking a closer look at the Canadian prairies, the East and West Coasts, and of course, the Southeast– which is emerging from an unusually chaotic period of severe storms right into hurricane season. Then we’ll look beyond the North American forecast for insights on weather conditions around the world that might still throw a monkey wrench into key markets. Finally, we’ll take a first look at the long range outlook for late summer and early fall to get a taste at what harvest might have in store.