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Mexico’s Big Freeze – 80-100% of Crops Damaged, Expect Shortages and Higher Prices
Kevin Hayden
I received an email from a reader regarding Mexico’s freeze damage over the last few weeks. In summary, large-scale producers of foods, such as Sysco, have sent out emails to major vendors explaining that there might be shortages of row crop foods due to freezing temperatures that hit Mexico. It goes on to say that Florida is normally the ‘Plan B’ as they grow many of the same varieties, but they’ve been hit hard by freezes as well and have lost most of their orange orchards.
It also details that expected shortages could be counted on 30-60 days from now and that Mexican farmers are still unsure of their next step – do they they try and quickly replant, hoping for a late March-April yield? Or disc the fields and wait? Other information coming in states that many of these crops have doubled, tripled or even quadrupled in price. For example, a carton of tomatoes went from $6.95 all the way up to $22.95 in one week. And that’s just one example!
This WILL affect your food cost and supply. If you’re not going to your local farmer’s market, now is the time to make friends and Read more…
Snowstorm Breaks Records from Oklahoma to Mississippi
Before creating travel hazards across the Southeast, a winter storm dumped feet of snow over parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas and set several snowfall records across the southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley on Wednesday.
The brunt of Wednesday’s winter storm was endured by far northeastern Oklahoma and neighboring northwestern Arkansas, where snow amounted to around 2 feet.
More specifically, an area near the town of Jay, Okla., measured 25.0 inches. Springdale, Ark., recorded 2 feet exactly.
Between 16 to 18 inches buried Fayetteville, Ark. The city only averages 6.1 inches for an entire winter.
A car became stranded in the snow on Interstate 540 in Fayetteville, Ark., on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Beth Hall)
A couple of factors went into play for the winter storm to Read more…
Russian volcano activity causes global concern
Now the world has something else to grip about when it comes to Russia – the weather.
A string of volcanoes on Russia’s eastern seaboard of Kamchatka have been unusually active for the last six months. The dust they threw up diverted winds in the Arctic, pushing cold air over Europe and North America and causing the unusually cold winter this year, say scientists.
The volcanoes (160 in total, of which 29 are active) are still on the go and could create more problems this year, depressing harvests around the world just as global food prices soar and Read more…
Climate phenomenon La Nina to blame for global extreme weather events
Cyclone Yasi over Australia in February 2011. Image credit: NASA
(PhysOrg.com) — Recent extreme weather events as far as Australia and Africa are being fueled by a climate phenomenon known as La Nina — or “the girl” in Spanish. La Nina has also played a minor role in the recent cold weather in the Northeast U.S.
The term La Niña refers to a period of cooler-than-average sea-surface temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean that occurs as part of natural climate variability. This situation is roughly the opposite of what happens during El Niño (“the boy”) events, when surface waters in this region are warmer than normal. Because the Pacific is the largest ocean on the planet, any significant changes in average conditions there can have consequences for temperature, rainfall and vegetation in distant places.
Scientists at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), part of Columbia’s Earth Institute, expect moderate-to-strong La Niña conditions to continue in the tropical Pacific, potentially causing additional shifts in rainfall patterns across Read more…
Freezing temperatures kill 65 zoo animals in Mexico
(CNN) — An icy cold front that swept through northern Mexico over the weekend left 65 zoo animals dead, the zoo’s owner told CNN on Monday.
Parrots, crocodiles and peacocks were among the victims of temperatures that dropped as low as 5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 15 degrees Celsius) early Saturday morning at the Chihuahua Zoo in the city of Aldama, about an hour north of Chihuahua.
The alarming number of deaths, which represents about Read more…
How Cyclone Yasi compares in size to countries
Date/Time: 2011:02:02 13:29:18 Source: news.com.au
IF you’re struggling to grasp the magnitude of Tropical Cyclone Yasi, consider this: it is so large it would almost cover the United States, most of Asia and large parts of Europe.
Most of the coverage about the scale of Yasi has tried to compare it with storms of the past – it’s bigger than Larry, more powerful than Tracy.
But just as powerful is this comparison, showing this storm is continental in size. The main bloc of the cyclone is 500km wide, while its associated activity, shown above in a colour-coding to match intensity, stretches over 2000km.
The storm’s scale of destruction is as shocking as it is inevitable. In the map above, the United States from Pennsylvania in the east to Nevada in the west, from Georgia in the south to Canada in the north and well into Mexico would be battered with 300km/h winds and up to one metre of rain.
The economic impact would be felt around the world.
Scroll down to see a close-up comparison of the heart of Yasi over New Orleans and other centers. Read more…
Three of Next Five Winters Could be as Cold or Colder
This winter is on track to become the coldest for the nation as a whole since the 1980s or possibly even the late 1970s. According to AccuWeather.com Chief Long Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi, three or four out of the next five winters could be just as cold, if not colder.
He is worried that next winter, for example, will be colder than this one.
Bastardi adds that with the U.S. in the middle of one of its worst recessions in its history and the price of oil in question, he is extremely concerned about the prospect for more persistent cold weather in the coming years putting increased financial hardship on Americans.
“Cold is a lot worse than warm,” Bastardi said, “and that’s why your energy bill goes up during the winter time: because of the fact that it takes a lot to heat a house.” Read more…
Winter storm brings much of America’s heartland to a standstill
A huge winter storm, described as the worst in decades, has brought much of America’s heartland to standstill, closing airports, main roads, schools, colleges and government officies.
The streets of Dallas, Oklahoma City and Tulsa were deserted, and more snow and freezing temperatures are forecast. Chicago is expecting 60cm (2ft) of snow, Indianapolis 2.5cm of ice.
The weather system, which stretches 2,000 miles across a third of the country from Texas to Maine, brought with it a cold front that has seen temperatures dropping to -12C (9F) and lower in its wake. Winds topped 60mph in Texas, while in Chicago public schools called a snow day for the first time in 12 years. Both the city’s major airports are closed. Chicago officials also the city’s iconic Lake Shore Drive after numerous accidents left motorists stranded for several hours. Officials said the move was temporary, but Read more…
Australia Cyclone Yasi upgraded to Category 5
Ian Hitchcock / Getty Images
CAIRNS, Australia — A powerful cyclone bearing down on Australia was upgraded to a maximum-strength Category 5 storm, with the likelihood of serious damage and risk to life.
“This is the most severe, most catastrophic storm that has ever hit our coast,” Anna Bligh, premier of Queensland State, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “We’ve seen a number of worst case scenarios come together.”
“This impact is likely to be more life threatening than any experienced during recent generations,” Queensland disaster officials added in an updated warning.
Yasi is expected to make landfall overnight on the Queensland coast between Cairns and Innisfail. Read more…
Americans brace for monster winter blizzard
The Rockies got an early blast from an ice storm that glazed the Denver metropolitan area on Monday, snarling traffic and forcing delays at Denver International Airport, followed by snowfall and plunging temperatures.
Denver’s high for Tuesday was forecast at 1 degree below zero Fahrenheit, with a low of minus 17 degrees and wind-chill values at 30 below predicted for overnight Tuesday.
But the nation’s midsection was expected to bear the brunt of the latest winter storm.
The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning and hazardous weather outlook for the Chicago area, calling for frigid temperatures, wind gusts as high as 50 miles per hour and heavy snow on Tuesday.
The storm could be the biggest since a 1967 blizzard paralyzed the city, Chicago officials said.
Click more to see the forecast for your area.
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