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14 March 24, 2016
2016 Logan County Farm Outlook Magazine
Lincoln Daily
News.comT
he winter season of 2015, crossing into 2016,
has proven to be one of the warmest winters in
recent history. Data released by the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in early
March revealed that in 121 years of keeping data on
the continental United States, winter weather this past
season was the warmest.
According to 30 year averaged data, temperatures
across the entire country averaged at five degrees
Fahrenheit higher. For Illinois, the average
temperature from December to Feb. 21 ranged four to
six degrees higher than normal.
This is a stark contrast to recent years, in which the
winters were marked by harsh blizzards and frequent
negative wind chill readings. As an example, the
lowest temperature reading observed in January in
Lincoln in 2016 was -2˚ Fahrenheit. In January of
2015, that figure was -8˚, and in 2014 it was -14˚.
An increase in winter temperatures is often attributed
to the weather phenomenon known as El Niño. El
Niño and its “sister” phenomenon, La Niña, are two
parts of a naturally occurring weather pattern affecting
seasonal temperatures and precipitation that stems
from the Pacific Ocean. This pattern shifts every three
to seven years on average with El Niño expected to
come to an end in 2016.
According to the NOAA, El Niño can be defined as
“A warming of the ocean surface, or above-average
sea surface temperatures, in the central and eastern
tropical Pacific Ocean.” By contrast, La Niña is “a
cooling of the ocean surface, or below-average sea
surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical
Pacific Ocean.”
According to the NOAA’s recent predictions on El
Niño (as of February 2016), it is likely that El Niño
will transition into La Niña in the fall of this year. But
what will that mean for agriculture?
Farmers in central Illinois can easily recall that a wet
and relatively warm winter was observed between
2011 and 2012. Also occurring in 2012 was a very
Will 2016
see the
effects of
El Niño
end and
La Niña
begin?
Continue
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