Snow

With More Arctic Air Set to Blast the U.S., Why This Winter Could Be Remembered for Its Extremes

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 21:42:02 GMT

After ice and blizzard conditions blasted the Midwest, South and East to start January, another round of frigid temperatures is set to blanket much of the U.S., and this time, temperatures could fall even lower than the previous round of cold.

Much of the U.S. is still seeing snow cover, with temperatures too cold to melt the recent snow. But now, we’re bracing for even colder temperatures as what’s called the “Siberian Express” is set to arrive this weekend. What exactly is the Siberian Express? Well, it gets its name from the cold air’s geographic origins. It’s when arctic air spills into the U.S., and it can have multiple sources, including Arctic Canada, Alaska, and in this case, Russia’s Siberia region, which is home to the coldest place on earth.

snow cover

(Weather Undground)

Meteorologists say the active start to January is a sign of what’s ahead.

“We’ve tried to bring some moisture back into places that have not seen it,” says Eric Sodgrass, principal atmospheric scientist with Conduit. “I’ve had this concern for a while about the lack of good flow in the atmosphere and what that’s meant toward building drought in some places through fall and now early winter. And I hate to say it, but nasty winters tend to give us a much better outlook for the next year. So, hey, let’s keep these things going for the rest of January and February, too.”

It’s not just the cold that’s turning heads, but it’s also the amount of snow that’s fallen since the start of the year, and it’s setting records. Take Kansas City, Mo., for example. That area has seen 13.” of snow in January, which makes it the second snowiest start to January in Kansas City history. Some parts of Arkansas saw as much as 15" of snow last week. That compares to areas that typically see snow, such as Chicago, recording little to no snowfall so far this year.

pic.twitter.com/rC9Dbh0qHE
— NWS Climate Prediction Center (@NWSCPC) January 13, 2025

The Winter of Extremes and Episodic Cold Outbreaks

USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey thinks the winter of 2025 will be remembered for the extremes.

“With this pattern set up, it’s going to be too dry in the Southwest, stormy in the Northwest, and episodic cold outbreaks across the country,” he says. “Everybody remembers those because especially embedded in an otherwise relatively mild winter, you really remember those hard hitters.”

Cold

(GFS Model )

And that’s exactly what we are in for later this week. According to Rippey, the upcoming Arctic blast is one of those “episodic cold outbreaks” we typically see during La Niña, and what he describes as a re-amplification of the pattern we’ve been seeing for much of the month.

“Sunday night’s GFS model is showing this for extreme minimum temperatures over the next seven days,” says Rippey. “Bitter cold should stay out of the Deep South, but it may get a bit colder than this early next week before it gets better.”

Cold

(GFS Model )

Recent Moisture Helps Drought in Places
What about the moisture? The recent moisture is helping drought conditions in parts of the upper Midwest and some areas of the plains.

“But as you move to the south, that’s where I have concerns, that southwestern quadrant of the country, southern California, to the High Plains, like West Texas, western Kansas, western Oklahoma,” Rippey says. ”All I can say is it’s very fortunate those areas in the central and southern plains had a wet November because it doesn’t look good for the foreseeable future.”

But what about areas farther north, like Montana and the Dakotas? Lerner doesn’t expect widespread relief this winter.

“We’re getting some waves of snow to come across Montana and the Dakotas, but it’s a dry, powdery snow, and it’s really not providing high volumes of moisture,” says Drew Lerner, founder and senior agricultural meteorologist at World Weather, Inc. “This pattern will continue for the next several weeks, so we’ll put out a little bit more snow up that way. But as far as being able to get a big soaking rain type, you’re going to have to wait until spring.”

Meteorologists say one thing we are seeing that’s consistent with La Niña, is the sharp dividing line between wetter conditions and drought. And NOAA’s seasonal outlook shows that divide with below normal precipitation forecast for much of the southwest and Deep South over the next 90 days. Above normal in areas of the northwest and east.

Precip. Outlook

(NOAA)

Temp Outlook

(NOAA )

Drought Watch
Lerner thinks parts of the upper Midwest and northern Plains could see more active weather with rain into spring.

“So, I’m not too terribly concerned about the fact that we’re still seeing persistent dryness in those areas,” Lerner says. “Not all of that region will get relief when we get to the spring, but I would say probably two-thirds of that region will.”

But even with more moisture across other parts of the U.S., Snodgrass says he’s concerned about drought in other areas due to the weak La Niña.

“We tend to be wet through the Mississippi valley and east going into spring. There tends to be lots of storms, but we tend to see the drought that’s in West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, the Sunbelt expand up toward Colorado,” Snodgrass says. “Most models want to bring dry conditions out of the southern Canadian prairie into Montana, and that’s kind of funneling toward the western Corn Belt. And I’ve based this off historical analogs looking at a lot of different years that looks something like this one. We just tended to be a bit hotter and drier.”

He says looking back, six out of 10 years that we’ve seen a similar pattern, we’ve ended up with heat and dryness in key months of July and August.

“To be honest with you, this is the first time in fall and winter that I’ve been kind of saying, ‘Hey, I think our risk is elevated for drought,’” Snodgrass says.

He says something extremely important to watch is what happens in the Gulf of Alaska.

“If between March and June, if that’s where it gets cold, the risk of drought in the Midwest goes way up. Watch that March time frame,” Snodgrass says. “I think that’s where our risk factor is going to be going forward. So I’m watching winter, but I’m more concerned about spring/summer.”

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Now Is the Time to Pay Attention to the Weather Forecast: Severe Snowstorm Forecasted to Dump Multiple Feet of Snow

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 21:08:28 GMT

As the calendar flipped to the new year, Mother Nature unleashed the potential for back-to-back blasts of winter weather. From the possibility of blizzard conditions early next week, to flooding in the southeast, the impact on agriculture could be two-fold: a possible cure for drought conditions in parts of the Plains and South, but stressful for livestock.

USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says the forecast is pointing to a very active weather winter pattern in January, which is a hallmark of El Niño.

“There’s no question about it. As I always say, you can’t blame an individual or a single storm and El Niño, but you start looking at the overall patterns, and there’s absolutely no question that when you start seeing a pattern setting up like this, a storm pipeline from the Pacific coming across the Southwest and into the Midwest or east, that is El Niño,” Rippey says.

Eric Snodgrass is a well-known ag meteorologist who’s also watching the change in potential winter weather this month. He says El Niño reached its peak at the end of December.

“It has plateaued. And what that typically means is we tend to have what we call a back-half weighted winter, which means December is usually pretty mild, not a whole lot to talk about, but once we get going into this new year, that jet stream is really going to start to become quite a bit more active,” Snodgrass says.

Active Jet Stream Set to Bring Multiple Winter Storms

The active jet stream is exactly what the U.S. is now seeing, with multiple storms lined up for the start of the year. Rippey says it’s an active storm track that starts in the South, eventually ending up along the East Coast.

“The storm that’s coming out late this week, it’s going to be a decent storm system - a decent winter storm. But it’s going to pale in comparison to the blockbuster storm that we see coming for early next week,” he says.

High Plains with current storm 53% covered in shallow layer of snow. Feet of snow on the way? pic.twitter.com/fAZzWeHurr
— Allen Motew (@QTweather) January 5, 2024

Snowfall reports from the National Weather Service (NWS) Albuquerque, New Mexico station shows impressive snowfall already falling in the Rocky Mountains. As of midday Friday, January 5, NWS reports 10 to 18 inch snowfall totals in the southern Rockies before it made its way across Kansas.

Eye-Popping Snowfall Totals Possible

However, Rippey says this first snow system isn’t the headline. Early to mid-week next week, a different significant storm will emerge from the Southwest and Four Corners region, which could bring monstrous snowfall totals.

“That storm will be going across the Central and Southern Plains Monday and reach the lower Great Lakes region by Wednesday,” Rippey says. “That system really has the potential to create a wide degree of disarray across the country.”

(Farm Journal)

The storm early next week will pack a punch with high winds, but it will also bring much needed drought relief. NOAA is warning of weather impacts that will span from Coast to Coast. They report heavy snow is likely in the higher elevation with blizzard conditions possible. The high winds are expected to hit much of the Central and Eastern U.S., with some winds exceeding 50 MPH.

“Some of them can be big snow makers through parts of the Midwest and some of them are putting down some heavy rains across the South,” Snodgrass says. “And the big picture here is that our U.S. Drought Monitor, which still shows about 50% to 55% of the land area in some form of drought, about one-third of it in the drought categories, that could really change a lot in the coming weeks.”

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. Winter arrives finally. 10 days from now mountains, West, Plains, North BURIED! pic.twitter.com/EbPLLFlB74
— Allen Motew (@QTweather) January 5, 2024

The winter storm is forecasted to bring heavy snow, which could provide relief for winter wheat country.

“We’ve already chipped away at the drought across the Great Plains,” Rippey says. “If you look at USDA’s winter wheat condition, we saw improvement from the end of November to the end of December. Kansas winter wheat jumped from 32% good to excellent at the end of November to 43% in December. Oklahoma saw a big jump from 53% to 67% good to excellent. So more moisture, more snow - that’ll be good news for winter wheat.

(Farm Journal)

While the storm system will bring much needed relief, it could also pose problems for livestock producers.

“As the storm crosses the southern Great Plains and moves into the Midwest, we’re going to have a big wind-driven snow event. So certainly, some livestock stress. And then for the Southeast, those folks where it’s not a drought situation, they could be dealing with flooding and flash flooding, as well as our first significant severe weather outbreak of the season early next week,” Rippey says.

Euro model... 😳❄️🌨️ pic.twitter.com/PqZKmP7G0W
— Darin D. Fessler ✝️ (@DDFalpha) January 5, 2024

Much Need Moisture in Areas

As the south braces for impacts of the forecasted storms, Snodgrass says that moisture is desperately needed.

“The South has been, in my opinion, on the wildest ride with moisture in the last 24 months compared to any other place on the planet at this point,” he says.

And as this El Niño pattern takes hold, Snodgrass thinks cotton country could final see some relief this winter.

“I think the best chance for recovery and moisture is going to be across the South, pockets of the Mid-South, the Southeast and in the East Coast,” Snodgrass says. “That track from Texas to South Carolina to Maine, I like it. That area is going to be getting some good moisture.”

It’s not just snow that producers will need to brace for, but temperatures are forecast to plunge with a possible Artic blast. Weather models are pointing to extremely cold and extreme Arctic air also moving in.

Still watching historic climate emergency risk from Arctic blast 📉❄️🌡️

Overnight weather model [ECMWF HRES 00Z] still shows historic Arctic blast into the Pacific Northwest and Western U.S. in 6-7 days.

Extremely cold w/potential for snowfall along California coast including… pic.twitter.com/PsNLPAccdj
— Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) January 5, 2024

The Duration of El Niño

Snodgrass says the question is how long until El Niño fades, and the impact it could have on the spring.

“If El Niño peaks right now and begins to fade throughout the rest of winter and into spring, I’ve looked at every event since 1960, and most times when that happens, we tend to do okay in the Midwest the following year in terms of precipitation. That’s not a guarantee, but you look at historically, we tend to go out of ridge riding storms, which are often the types of storms that save crops,” he says.

That scenario, however, spells trouble for key growing areas of the South this spring and summer.

“The only way you can get a ridge riding storm system, though, is to put heat and drought across the South. That’s the Cotton Belt that could be impacted negatively by that,” Snodgrass says. “That’s all speculative. But that’s all you got this time of years to base it off of those bigger picture things.”

Areas of the Country Could Still Be Dry This Spring

With the active storms to start the year, there are still pockets of the country that need much more moisture to replenish dry soils before spring.

“I’m worried about the Northern Plains,” Snodgrass says. “I’m worried about the Canadian Prairie on drought. I’m worried about the lack of snowfall we’ve had so far in parts of the upper Midwest. We need to be piling a whole lot more snow there.”

The debate of just how long El Niño will last is heating up. There’s even talk of La Nina making a return this year. There’s no certainty either way, but for now, Snodgrass says a strong shot of winter weather isn’t a bad thing.

“I’ll just tell you this, the nastiest winters we’ve ever had, have almost always given us fantastic springs and summers,” he says. “So, I hate to say it, but I’m wishing for just a terrible second half of winter so that I can talk to you next spring summer and say, ‘Hey wasn’t that terrible? But now look what we got out of it.’”

Related News:

What impact did El Nino have on the weather in 2023?

Four Strategies to Help Cows Conquer Cold

Wed, 20 Dec 2023 01:12:00 GMT

When Old Man Winter sets up long-term residence, both animals and people have extra daily challenges. But cows are amazingly resilient creatures, and are better able to withstand cold than many other animals, according to Dr. Jon Pretz, dairy nutritionist with Hubbard Feeds.

In a recently published, comprehensive bulletin on evaluating feeding strategies for the winter, Pretz noted that cattle are extremely cold hardy due to their large body mass; propensity to naturally increase metabolic rate; and ability to add insulation through hair growth and fat deposition under their skin.

Still, there are management measures that can help cows cope and stay productive through cold conditions. Pretz advised:

Prioritize dryness – “A cow with a dry winter coat can withstand temperatures of about 18°F, also known as their lower critical temperature, before feeling cold stress,” said Pretz. As temperatures fall lower and wind chill becomes a factor, cows with a wet haircoat will have double the energy deficit compared to cows with dry haircoats.
Monitor water – Cows prefer water between 40 and 65°F. Lower temperatures may cause water and dry matter intakes to drop. Also, be sure waterers remained thawed, and manage ice surrounding waterers that may deter cows from visiting them.
Keep the feed bunk loaded – Cows will eat more when it’s cold to keep up with maintenance. But when cold temperatures become extreme, more feed may be necessary because dry matter intake is temporarily outpaced by increased metabolism, causing cows to enter a state of negative energy balance. Step up bunk and push-up management and consider feeding more on frigid days. “It’s not uncommon for cows to require an additional 20% more feed during cold weather,” advised Pretz.
Watch for frozen feed – Wet forages and byproducts can freeze during long cold spells. This can result in issues of sorting off chunks of frozen feed in the bunk, reduced intakes, slower digestive passage rates, and more energy expelled by the cows to warm up and process the feed internally. Pretz advised that, as a result, ration energy levels may need to be boosted temporarily through increased starch, sugar, and/or fat during periods of extreme cold.

“With shelter from the wind and elements, adequate body condition, a dry coat, fresh water, dry bedding, and good nutrition, dairy cattle can tolerate temperatures well below zero,” concluded Pretz.

Winter Cow Syndrome: What You Need to Know

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 15:45:37 GMT

“Winter cow syndrome” is a term used to describe individual cows or groups of cows that experience a significant decline in body weight and condition over the winter – sometimes becoming extremely thin, even to the point of death. The cause is usually due to a combination of factors including: physical factors of the cow(s), feed quantity and characteristics, and weather.

Cows greater than 10 years of age tend to be at higher risk for “winter cow syndrome” because some cows in this age group will have “broken mouths” or no teeth. While these cows may be able to maintain body weight when grazing growing forage, they are at risk of losing weight on dormant forage or hay.

In addition, heifers that are still growing have greater energy needs than mature cows and are also at risk for “winter cow syndrome.” Cows with other disease problems such as pneumonia, liver disease or severe parasitism (lice or intestinal worms) increase their risk for “winter cow syndrome.”

Feed quality is an important factor contributing to “winter cow syndrome.” Many extremely thin cows have a rumen full of poorly-digestible forage. Mature dormant forage or hay harvested when the plant was mature tends to have high lignin content, low protein, and low available calories.

Because high-lignin/low-protein forages have a very slow passage rate through the digestive tract, cows eating these types of forages are able to consume only about one-half to two-thirds the number of pounds of forage per day compared cows eating higher-quality forage. This combination of low intake and low available energy per pound of feed can easily result in cows losing weight very rapidly even when eating all they can consume.

In addition, mature forages are often borderline to deficient in phosphorus, occasionally deficient in calcium, and also low in vitamin A. Calcium content of many types of grass decreases somewhat as forage matures and becomes dormant but usually maintains levels that supply dietary needs throughout the year. However, by mid-winter phosphorus levels in forage can decrease greatly, particularly for some types of forage. The content of both calcium and phosphorus in forage is not the only important variable – intake also plays a critical role. When forage is dormant or of poor quality and intake is decreased, phosphorus and calcium intake can drop below minimum levels even when cows are grazing what appears to be adequate forage according to laboratory analysis.

Vitamin A is the vitamin most likely to be deficient in cattle diets and although carotene (which is converted to vitamin A) is plentiful in green, growing forage; large losses take place in the curing and storage of roughages. Particularly, hay cut in the seed stage and exposed to rain or to extended periods of sunshine prior to baling has lost most of the carotene content. While it is true that while grazing green forages, cattle can store vitamin A in the liver for 2 to 4 months, cows consuming dormant forage or poor-quality hay for several months can deplete these reserves.

Cows are able to withstand cold winter temperatures as long as they have a dry winter haircoat and adequate body fat. Cows in adequate body condition with a dry haircoat will start to require additional energy to maintain their body temperature when the wind-chill drops below freezing (32 °F) until the cows adapt to the lower temperature – in general, about 1% more energy for each 1 °F below freezing. For example, if the wind-chill averages 20 °F over several days, cows with a dry winter haircoat will require 12% more energy than cows exposed to temperatures above freezing.

The greatest weather stress occurs if hair becomes wet or mud-caked – in which case, the critical temperature rises to about 59 °F and cows require 1 to 2% more energy for each decree of wind-chill below 59 °F. In this situation, an average wind-chill of 20 °F results in cows needing about 40 to 80% more energy just to maintain their current weight. When intake cannot meet this requirement, body fat will be mobilized to supply the deficient energy.

Prolonged periods of exposure to low wind-chill temperatures (especially if the haircoat is not dry) coupled with poor quality forage where intake physically cannot be increased, results in rapid weight loss. If cows are thin to start with, the combination of poor quality forage and low environmental temperatures will lead to extremely thin cows that may be low in phosphorous and vitamin A (and potentially other nutrients) and these cows are often unable to rise (i.e. downer cow).

The likelihood that a downer cow due to “winter cow syndrome” can return to health and productivity is low to very low depending on the severity of the weight loss, the current level of environmental stress, and the availability of high quality forages and supplements.

The best strategy to prevent “winter cow syndrome” is twofold. First, “mouth” and body condition score the cows in the fall and cull any gummer and broken-mouth cows and separate thin cows and feed them so that they gain weight and are in adequate condition by the start of colder weather. Second, have a good forage management and winter supplementation plan that results in cows that maintain adequate body condition throughout the year.

On native range, dormant winter forage will likely need protein supplementation to ensure adequate intake and digestibility of mature plants; in addition, energy may need to be supplemented during periods of cold stress. The amount and type of winter supplementation of hay will depend on the quality of the hay being fed.

Cows consuming high-quality hay may require no additional supplementation. However, if the hay has adequate protein, an emphasis on energy supplementation may be required during periods of environmental stress. If low-protein hay is being fed, protein may need to be supplemented as well.

For herds that calve starting in late winter or early spring, late winter coincides with the last 50 days of gestation and the early post-calving period. Cows in late gestation require about 1.8 pounds of protein per day and about 11.3 mega-calories of energy (if not cold-stressed). Once cows start lactating, their protein and energy requirement increases dramatically. Early lactation cows will require about 2.5 pounds of protein per day and about 16.4 mega-calories of energy.

Cows can be supplemented with a variety of feeds with the best feed for a particular situation depending on cost, availability, and ease of handling. Good quality grass or legume hay, by-product feeds such as wheat mids, corn gluten feed, distillers grains or soy hulls, commodities such as corn or whole soybeans, and commercial cubes or tubs are all potential winter supplements. Regardless of the source, the total diet of forage and supplement should supply adequate energy, protein, salt, phosphorus, and calcium.

In addition to a good forage management and supplementation plan, it is wise to have contingency plans for thin cows as well as for extreme weather events. If you identify some cows that have lost body condition during the winter, they should be separated from the herd and fed a higher energy diet. In addition, extra feed should be available for periods of extended cold temperatures to avoid excessive weight loss.

"It's Not Hollywood At All": How Veeder Ranch Battled Historic Blizzards, Found Hope in the Middle of the Storm

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 05:19:30 GMT

Once you reach the far western portion of North Dakota, the rugged ways of ranching on the cusp of the Badlands can be challenging, no matter the time of year.

“No calf out there is older than 2 weeks old,” says Chad Scofield, a rancher in Watford City, N. D. “Most of them have been born in the last six to seven days.”

This year, calving in the middle of a blizzard came with a battle that was unlike anything many North Dakota ranchers had ever seen.

“We were told it was coming,” says Gene Veeder, who owns Veeder Ranch and ranches along with his son-in-law Chad. “I guess the magnitude of it just kind of was a slap in the face.”

Veeder Ranch is a family operation that’s relied on this land for more than a century.

“Having that long, hard blizzard for a couple of days, and then another one, I don’t remember that ever happening like that in April,” says Veeder.

The family portion of the ranch is still intact, as Chad is married to Gene’s daughter, Jessie. They all live on the family ranch, raising the next generation.

“We didn’t know when I was growing up here in the 90s whether it was going to be a possibility for me to raise a family out here, honestly,” says Jessie Veeder Scofield. “It was a totally different economic time.”

Jessie’s husband, Chad, has worked on the ranch for several years, but has only been full time for a few years. Now that their family is fully immersed in the ranch life, Jessie is grateful.

“Every day we come to the work we’re doing in the family, that we have here, from a place of gratitude,” she adds.

McKenzie County, N. D., is unique with the median age in the community hovering around 35.

“It is because of the economy, because there are jobs here and the oil activity, especially, brought that to McKenzie County. It brought a lot of fourth and fifth generations back to the family ranches, and that’s been incredible,” she says.

Battling the Blizzard

Carrying on those traditions here, is what Jessie strives to do, even when Mother Nature pushes livelihoods to the limits.

An area stricken with dire drought conditions, the blizzard warnings stirred up emotions the week before Easter.

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“It’s like gratefulness and fear all sort of balled into one,” says Jessie. “I think everyone in McKenzie County and in western North Dakota was feeling that, because we haven’t seen snow like this for years.”

Both hope and fear entered the picture as the forecasts became closer and closer to reality. Then, just before Easter Sunday, the Veeders saw a blizzard of a lifetime.

“I think it lasted three full days, and it was bad. Like right here where we’re standing, we would have been standing in about 3 feet of snow,” says Chad.

Record-Breaking Snow

As snow piled up, even trying to wade through the snow to get to their tractors was a feat. Typically, the Veeders would enter their pastures on horseback, but the conditions were too extreme this time.

“Just walking from the house to the barn here on the first storm, where we’re standing right now, I had snow to my waist. I was almost panicky because I had to get to this building to get to the tractor to get out,” says Veeder.

“The snow was so deep coming across this road, that I was pushing it with the front of the tractor, not even the bucket, just the actual front of the tractor was pushing it,” Chad adds.

With blinding conditions and snow that was measured in feet, not inches, the first storm was bad enough. Then, just days later, another storm hit, this time as the Veeders were at the height of calving.

“That was hard for us, because we knew that we were going to have calves out there. We did the best we could to give them shelter and get bedding down for them, but if they were born in the night during the weather, we just couldn’t save them,” says Veeder.

Already exhausted from the first storm, the Veeders did everything they could to prepare for the second.

“What we did is we put them in our lowest, most protected areas and had lots of hay and stuff for them to lay on and got them out of the wind,” says Veeder.

Losses from the Storm

Even though the Veeders did everything they could to help protect their livestock, the blinding conditions were followed by ice, as the back-to-back blizzards were intense. The Veeders only had about 20 minutes after a calf was born to save it.

“They were just wet and cold and couldn’t get dry,” says Chad. “And the cows were all confused about who was the mom for each calf, and it was just kind of pandemonium.”

“My brother was here, too, so Chad, my brother and I were in the two tractors out there, and we had multiple calves in the tractor trying to get them warmed up,” says Gene.

Gene’s brother came back from Texas just to help during the storms, and even with extra help, it was a battle to save the calves.

“We were out in the tractors, looking for calves,” explains Chad. “I think we picked up four or five of them. And then a couple of them were able to get back with their moms, and now we are left with three bottle calves still.”

With the brutal conditions, some of the newborn calves didn’t survive the storm.

“We’re still probably going to be calculating the losses,” says Jessie. “It was certainly more than we wanted to lose, but gosh, we could have lost more.”

Ranchers across North Dakota found calves that were lost in snowbanks after the snow melted from the storm, and the losses are hard for even this seasoned rancher to weather.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch (@jessieveeder)

“It doesn’t have anything to do with dollars,” says Veeder. “I get a lump in my throat telling you about it. These cows that you raise, you kind of get a bond with them. And then you see them go through all that, and their (calf) just dies in a snowbank in 15 minutes.”

Sacrifices to Save Lives

Veeder Ranch lost around 10 calves, but it’s the lives they saved that the family celebrates.

“We had every family member in our entryway with a heated floor, and we were scrubbing those calves down, getting them dried off and getting them fed and trying to pick them up,” says Jessie.

Jessie’s two girls, along with her sister and her two kids, did everything they could to save each precious life on the ranch.

“One bottle calf, the girls named her Strawberry, and now she’s in the barn doing really well. So you feel kind of victorious with all of those little victories that you get in the process of being kind of desperate,” says Jessie.”

While ranchers will continue to battle the thoughts of what else they could have done to save their livestock, there are many calves that lived because of the sacrifices the Veeders and other ranchers made during the April blizzards. And signs of life are spread all across area ranches, in more ways than one.

“You have to just be in the moment, do what you can and be able to look past it into a more positive situation and know that it’s coming and believe that it’s coming,” says Jessie.

Relief in the Form of Moisture

Better days are exactly what’s ahead. An area that had faced a harsh drought for two consecutive years, saw moisture that was not just needed but crucial this year.

“We were in such incredible drought,” says Gene. “We were getting our business taken from us with a drought. We’re talking about this blizzard, but I felt worse about the drought than I do this blizzard, honestly, I do. It was a hopeless feeling.”

While the blizzard robbed them of some new life, it also brought blessings in the form of moisture.

“It means not having to sell the cattle for us,” says Jessie. “(Having moisture) to grow the grass that didn’t grow back in the fall means we’ll be able to keep our herd. It’s huge.”

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The moisture from the blizzard was extreme, but it saved their herd. Some of the animals they were already forced to sell due to dire drought conditions. Relief is just one of many emotions running rampant as the weeks of brutal weather have made ranchers here tired, both physically and mentally.

“I worked hard enough that my body feels like 90 years old,” says Veeder with a smile. “But never once do I complain because my dad worked way harder. And my grandpa worked way harder.”

Heavy Dose of Grit and Grace

For ranchers across the Plains, weathering the extremes is simply what you do.

“Both my grandparents homesteaded in this area. I don’t know how they did it. I can’t imagine so,” says Veeder. “The Yellowstone thing, there’s not enough dollars in livestock today to live that kind of lifestyle. You have to love it. You have to love getting up every morning looking at your cattle and having my grandkids come in and appreciate it and my kids appreciate these. It’s not Hollywood at all.”

Ranching may not be glamorous like pictured in popular movies or television series, but it creates lessons that last a lifetime, and it requires a heavy dose of grit and grace.

“We had a lot to be grateful for in this situation,” says Jessie. “We have family around us, we have a lot of help, we had the right equipment, we had the moisture. For me grit is just being able to see past it, you know, see past the hard time and into the next step. And the next step is going to be better, we’re going to do this, we’re going to have a plan.”

North Dakota Rancher Braces For Crippling Blizzard That Could Be Catastrophic During Calving Season

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 18:34:38 GMT

Farming and ranching in North Dakota the past two years has been immersed in challenges. With the latest forecast, farmers are weathering yet another challenge as they prepare for a blizzard that could bring 50 mph winds and up to 30" of snow.

Central North Dakota seems to be the bullseye for the blizzard, with forecasts showing that area could see more than two feet of snow, along with winds that could cause white-out conditions.

Farmers and livestock producers are desperate for the moisture, but the snow and the wind will be a battle for livestock this week. Just ahead of the storm, Austin Langley was busy putting out extra hay bales for his cattle. A week ago, he was thinking about planting wheat and barley. But as the forecast changed, Langley had to pivot quickly.

“We have a little under 1,000 mama cows that are calving,” says Langley, who farms with his dad and uncle. “The snow is going to be a challenge along with the fact they said something like 50 mph winds. You can haul the newborns in as fast as you can, but what has my stomach turning into knots is the whole next week with temps below 30 and in the low teens for this coming weekend, too.”

The storm is expected to hit Tuesday and continue to rage across the upper Midwest through Thursday. Mid-April is later than many ranchers calve, but the Langleys started aiming for mid-April, since it’s typically milder and less of a chance for major snowstorms.

This week’s forecast is the worst case, with Langley worried about the newborn calves surviving the snow and cold. He’s also concerned about how he will navigate the white-out conditions to reach the calves in time.

“After these calves get 2’ of snow dumped on them and then it stays cold, it’s hard,” says Langley. “It’s going to be hard to keep them healthy. It’s going to be hard to keep things alive.”

Monday morning update:

⚠ Blizzard Warning in effect for western and much of central ND

❄ Snowfall amounts could exceed 24" in some places, with wind gusts up to 50 mph

🤔 Uncertainty in the far south central and JRV due to more rain possibly decreasing snow totals #ndwx pic.twitter.com/AZ95CknLSC
— NWS Bismarck (@NWSBismarck) April 11, 2022

More than half of North Dakota is still facing drought. Thankfully, Langley is in an area that has seen some moisture. While still faced with a deficit, he knows he needs moisture, but a blizzard could do lasting damage on their herd this time of year.

“We’re focused on the cows right now,” says Langley ahead of the winter storm. “We’re getting some of the calves that are a little bit older into some of the secondary spring pastures that have some good ravine coverage with brush, because we’re going to have our hands full with the newborns. So that’s kind of the plan right now making sure we can keep water to keep water and feed to the cows. Hopefully things will be turn out OK.”

The last time the area saw a mammoth winter storm this late was 1997. Langley says the most recent forecasts are drawing vivid memories of that year for some, along with advice.

“I was visiting with some with an older rancher, and he said, ‘Don’t kill yourself for the one calf. You have to triage. Your family and the rest of the herd are going to need you after this. So be careful out there,” says Langley.

In 1997, ranchers remember using snowmobiles to get to their animals. With the blizzard conditions, tractors weren’t even enough to get the job done. The power also went out for several days.

Typically, Langley would be in the field later this month planting barley and wheat. He says now it will be well into May before they can plant, and there’s some questioning just how much beneficial moisture will blanket the soils, considering the storm could bring such strong winds.

“With 1’ or 2’ of snow at 50 mph winds, where’s that going to end up? Is it going to end up in the ditches and in the valleys? So how beneficial is it really going to be,” he says.

Since grain farmers are on hold doing any field work this week, two of Langley’s friends, who also farm, are going to help them with the cattle this week. That’s as the agriculture community continues to come together and assist when needed most.