More than 1,500 tornadoes have been confirmed this year, causing significant wind and hail damage.
It has some producers wondering if such severe weather is becoming the new norm. Years like this can often reset insurance policies.
According to a Senior Scientist with Nutrien Ag Solutions, research indicates a troubling trend.
“We look at data. That’s the big thing. So for example, with respect to the severe weather, there was some great research published out of Northern Illinois University a couple of years ago that was done by a man named Victor Gassini. And what he studied was, is there been any sort of a shift in Tornado Alley? Is it expanding, or contracting; is it changing north, south? And what we found is that throughout the Mississippi Valley over the last 40-plus years, there’s just been an increase, especially along the mid-south of tornadic activity that also is a region. We’ve seen increases in hail and wind damage as well,” Eric Snodgrass explains.
Beyond severe weather, droughts and floods are hitting agriculture hard.
Snodgrass adds that while the western U.S. has a Mediterranean climate with wet and dry seasons, full reservoirs from a big snowpack have been a lifesaver from farming despite the wildfires.
