Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Summertime weather pattern stagnation across North America has created hyper-local weather extremes, leaving agricultural producers to navigate a mix of patchy drought, intense heat, and severe storms as harvest gets underway.
The lack of strong jet stream activity during the summer months often leads to stagnant weather patterns, allowing localized heat and moisture dynamics to dictate conditions, explains Eric Snodgrass, senior atmospheric scientist with Nutrien.
In this interview, Snodgrass and Shaun Haney discuss how current conditions deviated from early-season weather models. Snodgrass noted that while many anticipated a cooler corn and soybean belt, persistent summer heat and shifting dynamics altered expectations. He pointed out that while producers often focus on large climate drivers, localized interactions frequently dictate outcomes. "If it's summertime, we cannot look to El Niño as being the background driving force in a weather pattern," Snodgrass explained. "It's a reminder... usually when there's a big event, either called the wildfires or drought or heavy rains, it's always the combination of a sequence of events before it (that matter)."
Looking ahead to the fall season, the development of El Niño is expected to shift jet stream dynamics across North America, bringing drier risks to northern regions like the Canadian Prairies while southern regions face wetter conditions. While late-season moisture in Eastern Canada has aided crops like soybeans, severe summer weather and high overnight temperatures have raised questions about harvest windows and overall crop standability.
"The farther north you go into North America, the drier the risks are going to be," says Snodgrass. "El Niño tilts the odds in that favour, but... you could have like four straight days of beautiful weather and then get punched in the mouth by something out of the Arctic that comes through and ruins the week."
Website: realagriculture.com
#weather #farming #agriculture #harvest
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Summertime weather pattern stagnation across North America has created hyper-local weather extremes, leaving agricultural producers to navigate a mix of patchy drought, intense heat, and severe storms as harvest gets underway.
The lack of strong jet stream activity during the summer months often leads to stagnant weather patterns, allowing localized heat and moisture dynamics to dictate conditions, explains Eric Snodgrass, senior atmospheric scientist with Nutrien.
In this interview, Snodgrass and Shaun Haney discuss how current conditions deviated from early-season weather models. Snodgrass noted that while many anticipated a cooler corn and soybean belt, persistent summer heat and shifting dynamics altered expectations. He pointed out that while producers often focus on large climate drivers, localized interactions frequently dictate outcomes. "If it's summertime, we cannot look to El Niño as being the background driving force in a weather pattern," Snodgrass explained. "It's a reminder... usually when there's a big event, either called the wildfires or drought or heavy rains, it's always the combination of a sequence of events before it (that matter)."
Looking ahead to the fall season, the development of El Niño is expected to shift jet stream dynamics across North America, bringing drier risks to northern regions like the Canadian Prairies while southern regions face wetter conditions. While late-season moisture in Eastern Canada has aided crops like soybeans, severe summer weather and high overnight temperatures have raised questions about harvest windows and overall crop standability.
"The farther north you go into North America, the drier the risks are going to be," says Snodgrass. "El Niño tilts the odds in that favour, but... you could have like four straight days of beautiful weather and then get punched in the mouth by something out of the Arctic that comes through and ruins the week."
Website: realagriculture.com
#weather #farming #agriculture #harvest
Find us on our other social media platforms:
X/Twitter: twitter.com/realagriculture
Instagram: instagram.com/realagriculture
Facebook: facebook.com/realagmedia
