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A La Niña winter and spring could hurt growers experiencing drought   

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting that a La Niña climate pattern will return for a third consecutive winter.

Eric Snodgrass, a principal atmospheric scientist with Nutrien Ag Solutions, says La Niña conditions could benefit growers this fall.

“The good news is that while La Niña is strong right now, in fall that tends to give us better moisture,” he says.

But, He tells Brownfield he doesn’t want to see La Niña conditions mid-winter to spring.

“I want it to be gone, because when you get rid of La Niña, what you end up getting is two pieces of the jet steam and the more jet stream level wind you have over you, the better the chances of getting moisture,” he says. “In the West and Midwest, we’ve got 82 percent of the country in drought, so we need that number to be significantly reduced by next spring. The way to do that is to get rid of this La Niña.”

Snodgrass says that’s easier said than done.

“The atmosphere needs to slow the trade winds down, get rid of that cold water when that occurs and the whole jet stream pattern will respond, and we’ll be in much better shape going into 2023,” he says.  

The La Niña climate pattern develops in the Pacific Ocean and can impact weather conditions worldwide. According to NOAA, La Niña winters result in warmer and drier conditions in the South and wetter and colder conditions in the North.  

Brownfield interviewed Snodgrass during the 95^th National FFA Convention and Expo.