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Livestock Wx for 1-17-19: New Seasonal Outlook

Today (Jan. 17, 2019) is the third Thursday of the month, and as many of you know, that is the day NOAA releases its 3-month Seasonal Outlook for temperature and precipitation. Even with the government shutdown parts of NOAA and the National Weather Service are still chugging along.

The image below shows there is a slight tilt in the odds of above average temperatures for most of the west. In particular, the Northwest has fairly decent odds of seeing enhanced temps. The Ohio River Valley shows the opposite side of the coin with enhanced odds of colder than normal conditions.

For precipitation there is a slight tilt in the odds for wetter than average conditions over parts of the Plains. This will be somewhat welcome news for hard hit drought areas in CO and NM. They are in quite a drought hole, though, so any moisture they get will only be chipping away at the deficits they have experienced over the last year.

Next 30 Days

Over the next 30 days you could see average temperatures below normal east of the 100th meridian. Precipitation could be below normal over Far West Texas and South Texas. South Texas is already showing some yellow on the U.S. Drought Monitor, so hopefully this 4-month drying trend will not persist. 

On the snow front, a good chunk of the nation will be seeing snow over the next few days. The Texas Panhandle has a slight chance of seeing more than an inch on Saturday while most of Oklahoma has a fair shot at seeing an inch or more over Saturday and Sunday.

For those interested we further break-down February-March-April in our Livestock Weather Journal, which will be out next week. We are no longer taking subscriptions, but if you’re interested in the information please send me a note at: chadmcnutt@livestockwx.com. 

Finally, we would just like to mention our thoughts are prayers go out to the family of Mason Lowe. Mason passed away this week at the PBR Chute Out in Denver. We are big fans of the PBR here at Livestock Wx and Mason was one of our favorites.  Rest in Peace, Mason.