Editor's Note: Each year, DTN publishes our choices for the Top 10 ag news stories of the year as selected by DTN analysts, editors and reporters. This year, we're counting them down from Dec. 18 to Dec. 31. On Jan. 1, 2025, we will look at some of the runners-up for the year. Today, we continue the countdown with No. 6: The massive impact of an active weather pattern that brought different types of weather -- beneficial, as well as severe and challenging -- in different places, at different times of the year. This includes good crops in the Corn Belt, large wildfires, flooding in the Midwest and Southeast, to several dangerous record-setting hurricanes.
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OMAHA (DTN) -- When it comes to describing the weather impact in 2024, it isn't one extreme event that stood out to make No. 6 on DTN's countdown.
"Honestly, the weather wasn't really all that extreme, ... (but) the impacts from it were massive in different parts of the country at different times of the year," noted DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick.
"Our weather pattern was so active that we just kept getting system after system roll through," he explained. They weren't big outbreaks for the most part, but it was kind of "nickel-and-dimed" through the season, he said.
Depending on where you live, you may have experienced some of the events that stood out. These included wildfires in the United States and Canada, flooding in the Midwest, derechos in the Corn Belt and other areas, a late-season flash drought, and hurricanes that could be both beneficial and very destructive.
But Baranick stressed that, thanks to a delayed La Nina pattern in 2024, a lot of the Corn Belt ended up with pretty good weather, "until you got to the very end, tail end of the season, when we were finishing up fall (harvest) and just took a couple of bushels off the top. But other than that, ... it was really good weather for most of the year for planting all the way to harvest. Harvest weather was great. And you're talking about the Corn Belt, or outside of Corn Belt to ... honestly, everywhere."
However, he did add that one area had a few challenges: "It was in the Southeast where they had weeks of drought, then weeks of heavy rain, then weeks of drought and then hurricanes."
LARGEST EVER TEXAS WILDFIRE
From December 2023 through March was a super El Nino, with limited precipitation in the dry Western Corn Belt at the start of the year (https://www.dtnpf.com/…).
However, El Nino-related precipitation increased vegetation growth in the Southern Plains and provided fuel for a megafire that caught national attention. The record-breaking Smokehouse Creek Fire in the northeastern Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma started in late February and burned more than 1 million acres -- more than 1,500 square miles -- and became the largest in Texas history and even one of the largest fires in U.S. history. (https://www.dtnpf.com/…)
Texas farmers and ranchers shared with DTN how it was the worst fire they saw in their lifetimes as it affected their pastures, killed thousands of cattle and other livestock, and destroyed their homes. (See https://www.dtnpf.com/…) and (https://www.dtnpf.com/…. See a first-hand account at https://www.dtnpf.com/….)
Weather conditions influenced other wildfires to break out in late winter into spring in United States and Canada, including some evacuations of people in various communities, and affected air quality in both countries.
By near the end of 2024, more than 13 million acres had burned in Canada and 8.6 million acres in the U.S.
HEAVY RAINS
Spring saw some heavy rains, such as those in April that triggered floods in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and as far south as eastern Texas and southwest Louisiana. (https://www.dtnpf.com/…) This led to some planting delays.
But for those farmers in South Dakota, southern Minnesota and northwest Iowa, June brought heavy rains that hit the crops they already had in the ground.
"It was in late June, so people had already planted, and it just kind of washed everything out," said Baranick.
Some areas got 12-18 inches of rain in two days, which caused flooding, saturated soil and standing water to areas that had moderate to severe drought a year before. (See blog by DTN Meteorologist Teresa Wells at https://www.dtnpf.com/…)
Asked what he thought was one of the most influential weather events of the year on crop production, Baranick pointed to the flooding. "I think it was probably the flooding in the Midwest, in terms of corn and soybean production, just because it wiped out very fertile areas of the country. And it was significant. I mean, driving through there was pretty remarkable, seeing all the variability in crop development and people that weren't able to plow anything over ... It was all drowned out. And then some areas where it was a mix of really, really short yellow corn, and move 100 yards, and it looks fantastic. And then other areas that, you know, look amazing. So, I mean the variability in that part of the country was kind of the worst of it all."
BILLION-DOLLAR WEATHER DISASTERS
But even before those heavy June rains, it was already becoming a costly year for weather disasters.
As DTN Ag Meteorologist Emeritus Bryce Anderson noted on June 12 in a blog, "The first five months already stands at 11 $1-billion disasters. That five-month total is higher than many annual totals since $1 billion weather and climate disaster tracking began in 1980 ... For more perspective, the year 2024 already has more $1-billion confirmed weather and climate disasters than each of the entire years from 1980-1997."
The billion-dollar events included "two tornado events that affected the central, southern and eastern U.S. at the end of April and beginning of May; one severe weather event that hit the central and eastern U.S. at the end of February; and a derecho event that affected portions of the South in mid-May."
(https://www.dtnpf.com/…)
Baranick noted in a blog in late May how much the severe weather was ahead of the average pace: "More than 1,000 tornadoes have been reported to the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) as of May 27. That is more than the 731 that have occurred on average over the last 15 years," he wrote.
According to the National Center for Environmental Information, by the end of November, there was a preliminary report of 1,762 tornadoes in the U.S., "which is among the highest tornado counts on record for the same January-November period. Only 2011, 2008 and 2004 have a similar high count of tornadoes."
HIGH WINDS AND DERECHOS
Many American farmers and ranchers may have noticed a lot more cases than usual of severe wind during the past year.
Baranick said, in his June blog, "Hail reports are only slightly above average with 3,142 reports for 2024 compared to 2,790 over the last 15 years. But wind reports have really skyrocketed during May and are well ahead of the 15-year average of 4,160 with a total of 5,899. This puts 2024 on pace for the second-highest severe weather reports over the last 15 years."
Baranick wrote more about the wind and derechos: "Though the case for the hurricane-force wind gusts may not make this a true derecho, a line of storms that formed in Oklahoma and Missouri on April 1 continued through the Ohio Valley on April 2. In addition to widespread wind damage, more than 100 tornadoes were reported, though some of these were in storms away from the derecho. Another derecho developed May 16-17 across Texas and Louisiana that caused widespread damage in downtown Houston with several reports over 100 miles per hour."
Read his blog to see more about severe wind events and derechos in May, including in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and northern Illinois, as well as the Ohio Valley hit again at the end of May. (https://www.dtnpf.com/…)
The heart of the Corn Belt got hit with another derecho -- and also large hail in places -- in mid-July, from Iowa through northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and northern Indiana -- just as crops were entering the critical stages of silking and setting pods. (https://www.dtnpf.com/…).
However, the July 2024 derecho was not as destructive to crops as the August 2020 derecho, explained Baranick in one of his blogs, even though it hit some of the same areas. (He explains some of the reasons why at https://www.dtnpf.com/…).
In an interview in late December, Baranick admitted he thought there was going to be more crop damage. "I was thinking it was going to be a bit more extensive once the combines started rolling, but those areas ended up with some pretty good yields," he said. "It pushed over corn, (there were) some ripped-up leaves on soybeans, for sure, but it was in July instead of August, so ... the corn crop just righted itself for the most part." He added the derecho also brought some much-needed rain at the right time: corn pollination time.
HURRICANES HIT U.S.
2024 stands out for the hurricanes that hit the country. In July, Hurricane Beryl's remnants brought rain into the Mississippi Valley and the Eastern Corn Belt. It made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Matagorda, Texas.
In August, Hurricane Debby landed as a Category 1 storm in the Big Bend area of Florida, then moved up through the Carolinas and East Coast with a massive amount of rain and flooding, including in southeast Georgia. (See the swings between drought and flooding in the Southeast and how they affected crops at https://www.dtnpf.com/….)
September saw more hurricanes. Early in the month, Hurricane Francine made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 2 storm, bringing heavy rainfall to the Southern Delta just as the cotton harvest was around the corner and soybeans were dropping their leaves. Francine also temporarily affected Gulf of Mexico exports and the offshore oil and gas industry. (https://www.dtnpf.com/…)
Perhaps the one that stood out the most, however, was powerful Category 4 Hurricane Helene slamming into Florida's Big Bend region near the end of September.
"Along with damage in Florida and Georgia, the storm also devastated western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Some areas of North Carolina saw as much as 29 inches of rain," reported DTN Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton, who added that presidential disaster declarations were already approved for Florida, North Carolina and Virginia by Sept. 30.
Helene hit hard the livestock industry and crops such as peanuts, cotton and soybeans.
There was widespread damage across the Southeast, with even early estimated damage reports at $15 billion across the region.
The estimates have continued to rise in the months that followed. In mid-December, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper released a report that Hurricane Helene recovery -- for damage and needs -- will cost his state $59.6 billion. (https://www.osbm.nc.gov/…)
"The estimated economic impact of Hurricane Helene on the agricultural community is $4.9 billion. The direct damage and needs estimate is $4.1 billion, comprising farm infrastructure, machinery, and equipment damage; crop, forestry, and trout farm losses; stream debris removal and stabilization needs, agricultural land restoration needs; wildfire risk response, and mitigation efforts. Livestock, dairy, and poultry producers experienced significant infrastructure damage but limited animal losses. There is an estimated additional $783 million in indirect and induced impacts from crop losses," Cooper's report stated.
Cooper's report showed it will take time and be challenging in the months ahead to recover: "Hay land, often in valleys, was destroyed along with stored hay in these areas. Cattle farmers now face chronic shortages of hay just as they are beginning the winter feeding season. Beyond the immediate production losses, for the agricultural community to recover, significant remediation efforts are needed to restore farmland and pasture and forestland from the effects of high winds, landslides, extreme erosion, sediment deposits, and stream redirection."
See some of DTN's coverage of Helene's impact on farmers and ranchers at https://www.dtnpf.com/…, https://www.dtnpf.com/… and https://www.dtnpf.com/….
Unfortunately, Helene wouldn't be the last of the hurricanes in 2024. It was followed by Hurricane Isaac, Leslie and Milton in the weeks that followed.
In fact, NOAA said in a news release Nov. 25 that there were seven hurricanes that formed since Sept. 25 in the Atlantic Ocean: "The most on record for this period." (https://www.noaa.gov/….)
By the time the Atlantic hurricane season ended at the end of November, there were 18 named storms, with 11 of them becoming hurricanes and five were major hurricanes; five of the hurricanes landed in the U.S., with two as major hurricanes, according to NOAA.
NOAA listed some of the records the hurricanes set:
-- "Hurricane Beryl was the earliest Atlantic basin Category-5 hurricane on record." (See DTN blog about its impact at https://www.dtnpf.com/….)
-- "Helene was the deadliest hurricane to affect the continental U.S. since Katrina in 2005, with more than 150 direct fatalities, the majority of which occurred in North Carolina and South Carolina."
-- "Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category-3 (storm) near Siesta Key, Florida, on Oct. 9 and resulted in a tornado outbreak that produced 46 tornadoes and caused torrential rainfall and localized flooding with total rainfall amounts of 10-15 inches (and higher) ... Milton's rate of rapid intensification was among the highest ever observed, with a 90-mile-per-hour increase in wind speed during the 24-hour period from early Oct. 6 to early Oct. 7." Milton hit livestock producers and citrus growers, as well as other crops.
For more perspective on how hyperactive, devastating and deadly the hurricane season was, see Anderson's blog https://www.dtnpf.com/….
LATE-SEASON FLASH DROUGHT
Grazing areas, winter wheat, and the final stages of filling in the Corn Belt were affected by late-season flash drought, Baranick said in his year-end interview.
"It went dry late summer and through ... most of August, September and October, out there in the Plains. So, it was an extended period of dry conditions -- great for harvest, but not for building forages or planting winter wheat."
He went on. "Luckily, that was reversed in November, when we got a whole bunch of rain outside of Nebraska. Nebraska didn't get it, but the Southwestern Plains -- Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico -- all those areas ended up with some really, really good soil moisture that kind of turned that (wheat crop) around."
DROUGHT CONTINUES
Baranick said a more active pattern in the fall has helped bring some moisture to the Ohio Valley.
But some of the areas that had the worst drought in 2024 have unfortunately not gotten the precipitation they need. This includes Nebraska, the Dakotas, Wyoming and Montana.
"This core area of cattle country has not done well with the active pattern," he said. "A lot of the systems have been kind of going off, either to their north or to the south, and they've kind of gotten left out in there. Iowa has been OK. There's still some leftover drought in there, but for the most part, it's kind of northern Nebraska, and especially northwestern Nebraska through almost all of Wyoming, much of South Dakota and western North Dakota into eastern Montana," he said.
"That's kind of the area that we're kind of watching to be an issue for 2025 because it's not an area that certainly sees a lot of moisture over the winter or the spring."
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More countdown stories:
-- See No. 10 story, "2024 Was Year of Labor Unrest at US and Canada Rail and Shipping Ports," at https://www.dtnpf.com/…
-- See No. 9 story, "'Over-the-Top' Dicamba Product Registrations Vacated," https://www.dtnpf.com/…
-- See No. 8 story, "Record-High Prices Rippled Through the Cattle Market in 2024," https://www.dtnpf.com/…
-- See No. 7 story," EPA Advanced Plans in 2024 to Meet Endangered Species Obligations for Pesticides," https://www.dtnpf.com/….
Elaine Shein can be reached at elaine.shein@dtn.com
Follow her on social platform X @elaineshein
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