No doubt you’ve heard the phrase “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” While there is actually no scientific basing for this proverb, weather during the first half of March this year is certainly much more winter (lion)-like than last year. Last year by mid-March, only 10.7% of the US was covered in snow and total snowfall ranked the 2nd least in 26+ years. Much of the snow cover last year was held to the higher elevations of the Rocky and Sierra-Nevada mountains and northern New England. This year, snowfall through March 15th has trended the 3rd most in 26+ years and the most in close to 20 years for the US as a whole. 37.2% of the US was covered in snow as of March 15th. Areas from Montana down to northeastern Kansas, east to northern Virginia, and all points north were covered by some amount of snow through Mid-March. Much of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern snow cover is thanks to the Nor’easter that hit earlier this week, bringing blizzard conditions for some areas, and dropping over 2 feet of snow in others.
March 2016 got off to a very warm start for the entire country. Temperatures for a majority of the country trended 5-10F above normal during the front half of the month, with some areas trending 10-15F or even >15F above normal. While temperatures are once again somewhat warmer than normal (1-5F above) in the West and South Central this year, temperatures in the Northern Plains and much of the East are trending colder than normal for the first 15 days of March. After last year’s very warm start to March, conditions this year are colder than last year for much of the US, with many seeing year-over-year temperature declines between 5-10F colder. Much of the Northeast trended 10-15F colder than last year and the Northern Plains trended 10-15+F colder than last year.
Mid-March is also bringing some devestating freezes to the Southeast. Thanks to a very mild February, many fruit trees, flowers, and other vegetation began emerging, budding, or blooming nearly 4-5 weeks early. But earlier this week, cold arctic air plunged into the US and made its way into the Deep South. Several days with overnight lows dropping down into the 20s (>15F colder than normal) will devestate the early vegetation and fruit trees. By Saturday, conditions will start to moderate in the Southeast as lows only fall into the 40s and 50s. Looking ahead, the second half of March in the US is forecast to still trend colder than last year and normal in the Northeast and Northwest, but the Central US is expected to trend warmer than both last year and normal. Snow threats cannot be ruled out just yet in the Northeast as the colder temperatures linger.
Down in Brazil, soybean harvest is now approximately 56% harvested for the country as a whole. Main producer Mato Grosso is 88% harvested, ahead of last year’s 76%. As recent drier weather has aided the soybean harvest, it has also been beneficial to the safrinha corn planting. Nearly 88% of the country’s second-crop corn has been planted so far, with main producer Mato Grosso just 2% shy from being totally planted.
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