May 13, 2020
Mirror Image Weather - North America and South America
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Over the years, I have commented that the weather in North America and South America can often be the mirror image of each other and I would say that happened again over this past weekend. Here in the Midwest and eastern U.S., we experienced a very late spring frost/freeze while in southern Brazil, they experienced a very early fall frost/freeze. Both of these events happened on the same day - last Friday/Saturday! Weird.
I am not a meteorologists, but I have been watching Brazilian weather for more than 45 years and I have seen this happen many times and it makes sense to me at least. The middle parts of both continents are influenced by the weather and water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. Both continents have a major mountain range on the west coast. The weather moves from west-to-east in the middle of both continents and cold polar air influences the weather in the middle of both continents.
According to the Brazilian National Weather Service (Inmet), the three southern states in Brazil received less than 200 mm of rainfall (8 inches) over the last three months. Moisture from the Amazon was blocked from reaching southern Brazil and any cold fronts from Argentina were generally weak and moved through very quickly.
One prominent meteorologists here in the U.S. has already predicted that the severe drought that impacted southern Brazil during their past summer months might be replicated here in the southern Midwest and mid-South during our upcoming summer months. I do not know if that will happen or nor, but if it does, I would not be surprised.