USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey says a developing La Niña pattern points to a colder-than-normal winter for the northern tier of the country. Speaking at the American Crystal Sugar Company annual meeting in Fargo, Rippey said the pattern has already taken hold. “Since right before Thanksgiving, we have seen a very La Niña-like pattern developing that I think is largely attributable to what we are seeing going on in the equatorial Pacific,” said Rippey. “Cold weather is settling in across, honestly, most areas east of the Rockies at this point, but certainly the core of the cold across the Northern Plains, the Midwest, and the Northeast; it is going to be a cold winter.” By meteorological spring, the La Niña’s impact will fade. There “may be some slight delays in planting and fieldwork, but overall I think we will be heading into spring in pretty good shape.”
