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Weather watchers say El Nino likely by fall, warmer winter to follow?

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Will next winter be warmer?

An El Nino Watch is being issued by the Climate Prediction Center, as conditions become favorable for development of another round of Pacific Ocean warming.

Meteorologist Dennis Todey, director of the USDA’s Midwest Climate Hub, says we’ll likely feel the impact in a few months.

“We could see an El Nino occur probably into the fall, is what I would guess we’re looking at,” Todey says. “There is a fairly decent pool of warm water in the subsurface in the equatorial Pacific. When you start seeing that and the computer models all line up I’d say, yeah, we’re probably headed that way.”

Farmers and ranchers across Nebraska will take particular note as the weather pattern often shifts the region’s climate. Todey says the impacts of the developing El Nino will be felt late this year into next.

“We have an increased chance of being warmer during the wintertime with El Nino,” he says. “The storm track moves up a little bit further north, you may have more mixed-precipitation-types of storms with the warmer temperatures than overall snowfalls.”

Todey says they are also watching the current warming trend across the Northern Plains.

“Even if you’ve got decent soil moisture, warmer temperatures start to extract more water from the soil because of higher atmospheric demand,” Todey says. “We’re getting to that time of year where corn is starting to use more water anyway. That’s a more immediate concern and then it becomes how much more precipitation are we really going to get, and that’s been a tough call so far this year.”

Todey says a La Nina — or cooling of the ocean — ended last year and we’ve been in a neutral phase since then.

Thanks to Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton

 

To water or not to water? That’s the summertime choice for a lush lawn

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After another hot weekend, many Nebraskans have been using garden hoses or sprinkler systems to keep lawns and gardens green.

UNL Extension educator Nicole Stoner says the phones at the Gage County office have been ringing with questions about the heat and the scattered rain.

“We’ve been getting an inch here and an inch there which helps, but because our spring was so dry, we started off low so it’s really hard to fully come back from that,” Stoner says. “I’ve had a lot of calls from people asking, ‘What’s wrong with my plants?’ It’s a heat and water issue.”

It’s not even summer yet and Nebraska’s already seen many days of at least 90-degrees. Stoner says homeowners -do- have the option of -not- watering their lawns.

“You have to pick. Are you going to let it go dormant, maybe turn a little brown in the summertime, or are you going to water it and if you want to water it, give it an inch or an inch-and-a-half per week,” she says. “The best time to water is 4 AM to 10 AM. If you have an underground irrigation system, run it then.”

Whichever way you decide, Stoner says homeowners need to stick to a schedule if they water their lawns. She says trouble starts when the watering process is suddenly stopped.

“If you’re a regular waterer and then you go on a two-week vacation and you turn your water off, then you’ve got problems,” she says. “Your lawn was used to getting that water for that long and then, all of the sudden, it doesn’t have it. You can be a non-waterer that waters a little bit, but you don’t want to be a regular waterer and stop.”

In addition to lawns and gardens, she says homeowners need to make sure trees and shrubs are also watered during the summer heat.

By Dave Niedfeldt, KWBE, Beatrice

 

Patriotic citizenship ceremony welcomes nearly three dozen new Americans

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A total of 34 people from 15 countries became United States citizens on Thursday — Flag Day — during a ceremony at the Homestead National Monument of America, near Beatrice.

U.S. District Judge John Gerrard presided over the ceremony which included reading a roll call of the names and home countries of each person who qualified to become a citizen. They were from nations including Mexico, Iraq, Vietnam and Guatemala.

Judge Gerrard told the group that being new citizens gives them the opportunity to succeed and enjoy liberty.

“There is no single American way to think or believe,” Gerrard says. “Indeed, conformity of thought and belief would be contrary to the underlying principles of this great nation.”

Gerrard encouraged those taking the oath to spread the knowledge that they’ve gained to their children and to discuss the rights they’ve earned with their fellow citizens.

“This court and the courts of our nation are here to preserve and protect your rights as Americans to freely and openly think and believe as you wish,” Gerrard says. “There is no leader or political system that can squash those rights, not 200 years ago and not today.”

Judy Anderson sang patriotic music for the occasion, while Homestead National Monument of America Superintendent Mark Engler welcomed the new citizens, and messages of congratulations were given by staff members of Nebraska’s Congressional delegation.

By Doug Kennedy, KWBE, Beatrice

 

Nebraska farmers face challenges from heat & prolonged summer

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With summer arriving next week and a steamy forecast for the next several days, the state’s weather experts are trying to help farmers prepare for what could be a very challenging growing season.

Assistant State Agriculture Director Mat Habrock says we’ve just had one of the warmer winters on record but it was followed by a cool, wet spring.

“We didn’t see a lot of the winter snows that we generally get and there wasn’t a ton of snowpack that can influence some of our river and stream flows into Nebraska,” Habrock says. “Then we had that really late March and April winter that crept up on us and dumped some snowfalls across pretty big portions of the state. Not a typical winter by any means.”

Habrock met recently with other members of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture Climate Assessment Response Committee to talk about weather conditions and predictions.

Farmers had an abrupt about-face from the cool spring with some very hot days in May and into June, with temperatures reaching well into the 90s. Habrock says that heat is another big concern.

Mat Habrock

“We’ve had some great rains across western Nebraska and up through the Sand Hills that have really helped conditions there but we are seeing dryness set in in southeast Nebraska,” Habrock says. “There’s a lot of dryness to the southwest of us in the Four Corners area. That’s a little concerning as far as what it may mean as the heat settles in.”

There are fears there may not be enough groundwater moisture for the dryland crops to be able to survive the summer.

Habrock says drought, like any weather condition, is an uncertainty but he adds farmers and ranchers can do more today to get ready.

“Producers are looking at what they can do to be best prepared for variability in the weather,” he says. “We’re seeing great strides in conservation practices that are helping to build soil capacity.”

With advancements in technology and farming practices, as climate changes happen, he hopes farmers can respond more quickly.

Habrock says over the next two months, it could be quite hot and dry, but long-term, there’s a good possibility of more moisture going into fall.

By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton

 

Grain elevator tower safely demolished after massive blast

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How the tower looks now, post-demolition.

Two weeks after it was badly damaged in an explosion, the top half of the tower of the Anderson Farms grain elevator in South Sioux City was pulled down Monday night.

South Sioux City Fire Chief Clint Merithew says the contractor brought in heavy equipment and yanked over the upper portion of the 23-story structure, where the blast had blown out an enormous hole.

“He had a lot of cuts he had to make and a little more structurally protected in some areas that he wasn’t familiar with on this elevator,” Chief Merithew says, “but once he brought the extra two excavators in with the needed horsepower, we got the call it would be five to ten minutes, it was down within two.”

The tower a few days after the explosion ripped a giant hole in its side.

While about a hundred feet of tower is still standing, for now, the 26 displaced residents were allowed to return to their homes Monday night for the first time since the April 29th explosion. Merithew says the natural gas company is doing some vital work now.

“They have necessary valving that they have to get to, now that it’s safe, then they can get back to the other two streets and get new valves put in there and then they can energize those homes with gas,” he says.

The remainder of the tower will be taken down in the near future, but the large bins behind the tower are still filled with grain. It’s not clear if they’ll have to be demolished. While many of the street barricades are being removed, the area is still crowded with a host of first responders.

“All agencies still have a lot of work to do that are on-site, a lot of documentation and then we go into the demobilization mode,” Merithew says. “We should be cleared of our command post in three to four days.”

Investigators have not released an official cause of the explosion, but the speculation is that grain dust sparked the blast.

Three employees were at the elevator at the time of the blast. One had minor injuries and another was badly hurt and was rushed to a Lincoln burn center with serious injuries. His name wasn’t released. No update on his condition is being given.

By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City

 

Veterans are honored with new memorial in Pickrell

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The southeast Nebraska village of Pickrell serves an example of how even a very small community can honor its veterans in a big way.

The new Pickrell Veterans Memorial is located along the Gage County town’s main street. It consists of several black granite monuments, three stone benches and seven flags.

Coordinator Marilyn Schlake says the project was four years in the making.

“Back in 2014, we started with the idea and it just kept mushrooming,” Schlake says. “Now, we have this beautiful monument that was a lot further along, more than we anticipated to start with, but we’re very, very proud of what the community has put together.”

Two of the black polished monuments are etched with the names of 163 local men and women who’ve served our country over the decades. That’s a lot for a town with a population of only 200.

“It’s been fun watching some of the veterans come and find their names,” she says. “This community is very supportive of it, once they saw it all put together and very proud.”

Pickrell is located just east of Highway 77 between Beatrice and Lincoln. Schlake hopes the monument sends a message to visitors.

“We are proud of our community. We are proud of the individuals who have been a part of our community and we value everybody that wants to be a part of this community,” she says. “Hopefully, they’ll see that Pickrell is a special place.”

Flags of the United States, the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and a POW flag fly at the memorial. With the current design, there is room for about 20 more veteran’s names on the granite stones.

The monument was dedicated on Sunday during the community’s annual picnic.

By Doug Kennedy, KWBE, Beatrice

 

Damaged grain elevator may need to be demolished before it falls over

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There are fears the grain elevator in South Sioux City that was severely damaged in an explosion on Tuesday may collapse.

South Sioux City Police Chief Ed Mahon says plans are being formulated to protect nearby homes and businesses if the 230-foot-tall Anderson Farms elevator topples.

“The basic plan at this point is to start moving large containers, like on container ships, and they’ll build a perimeter around it along the street to help contain it should it fall,” Chief Mahon says. “They have a plan for snow fence. They’re going to barricade the area away from people, pedestrians and vehicles, so nobody can wander in there.”

Many of the homes and businesses nearby were evacuated on Tuesday and some remain empty due to safety concerns. Some residents were offered refuge at a Red Cross shelter in the South Sioux City Middle School.

Inspectors have been looking over the tall structure, which has an enormous gaping hole in its side, and a final decision has yet to be reached on how to proceed.

“All the assumptions are that they’re going to bring it down,” Mahon says. “That’s the assumption right now. I haven’t been given that as the definitive word but if they do, they’ll have the equipment, they’ll have the right crews to do it safely and as quickly as we can.”

Investigators fear the remaining building could collapse, so they don’t want to wait much longer before starting the demolition process.

“They’re going to assume that it could fall at any time, that’s why we’re going to make sure that we keep the perimeter safe, that we keep the homes evacuated,” Mahon says. “I think that’s the safest thing. I can’t say that they don’t think it’s going to fall. It probably will. We hope it doesn’t.”

While no official cause of the explosion has been released, the speculation is that grain dust sparked the blast.

Three employees were at the elevator at the time of the explosion. One had minor injuries and another was badly hurt. Mahon says he remains hospitalized in a Lincoln burn center with serious injuries. His name wasn’t released.

A video drone from the South Sioux City police shows up-close views of the damage.

Story and photo by Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City

 

 

Armed robbery suspect leads authorities on chase from Beatrice into Kansas

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The Beatrice store that was robbed late Tuesday.

A high-speed chase on Wednesday involved several law enforcement agencies and cut across southeast Nebraska and into Kansas.

Authorities say the suspect was wanted for the shotgun robbery of a Beatrice convenience store around midnight on Tuesday night.

Beatrice Police Chief Bruce Lang says they had the suspect under surveillance.

“Our suspect and another individual exited the apartment, got in a car and left,” Chief Lang says. “Our officers attempted to stop them, they fled and we ended up with a prolonged pursuit through southeast Nebraska and into Kansas. They were ultimately arrested over on the border of Nebraska and Kansas.”

Lang says speeds exceeded 100 miles an hour. Law officers were able to shoot out two of the suspect’s tires, ending the chase.

The suspect, identified as Jonathan Klein of Beatrice, faces a host of charges, including the robbery of the Git ‘N Split.

His passenger, Wesley O’Keefe Junior, was also arrested on an active warrant.

A third person is still at large who police believe drove the vehicle used in the robbery.

Story and photo by Doug Kennedy, KWBE, Beatrice

Visitors from several southeast Asian nations tour Nebraska ethanol plants

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A group of 20 government and industry representatives from four countries in southeast Asia are wrapping up a trade trip to Nebraska.

They’re being hosted by the U.S. Grains Council and Nebraska Corn Board.

Roger Berry, Director of Market Development for the Corn Board, says the visitors are seeing first-hand the full production and value chain of ethanol in Nebraska.

“We’re showing them how we do it here in the United States,” Berry says. “We feel we’ve got a good model. We’ve made mistakes as we’ve gone along the way and we’ve had a lot of successes. We share that with these teams so they can do the same thing in their country, realizing that they don’t have all the feedstock to produce all the ethanol that they need.”

He says Nebraska’s farmers are in a position to supply them the ethanol feedstock they need.

“We are explaining to them that we have the production capability here in the United States to help them fill that area that needs to be filled so that they can go ahead and start the policies through their governments to bring about cleaner air in their own countries, too,” he says.

Berry says the delegation toured the Siouxland ethanol plant near Jackson.

“One question that was asked is, ‘Why is there no steam coming from this plant anywhere, we don’t see anything escaping anywhere?'” Berry says. “They are amazed with the efficiencies we have in our plants. That’s one of the things they’re really interested in.”

Group members are from Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

There are 24 ethanol plants in Nebraska that produce a total of more than two-billion gallons each year. Nebraska is the nation’s number-two ethanol producer behind only Iowa.

By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton

 

Study finds immigrants are leaving rural Nebraska, Midwest

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Immigrant populations are starting to fall in rural labor markets, according to a study commissioned by the National Pork Producers Council.

Economist Chris Boessen, one of the study’s authors, says the pork industry is making gradual yet major shifts.

“In the last couple of decades, the hog industry has changed dramatically from operations using a lot of family labor, sometimes paid, sometimes unpaid family labor,” Boessen says. “That’s more or less gone away as we’ve intensified and gone to more of a high-tech, capitol-intensive, more-concentrated production.”

Boessen says the study shows the labor market has changed in Nebraska and across the region.

“You have a lot of growth, a lot of hiring in the hog industry, it needs a lot of workers,” Boessen says, “but at the same time in the last few years, the labor market’s really tightened up from 10% unemployment in 2009 to 4% and really below 4% in a lot of the main hog states here, especially in the Midwest.”

The change in U.S. immigration policy has contributed to a shortage of foreign ag workers, but Boessen — an economist at Iowa State University — says it’s more than just that.

“We’re moving into a period now where we’re going to worry less about a wave of immigrants and worry more about how we’re going to manage a workforce where we have fewer immigrants,” Boessen says. “The immigrants who are here are aging and retiring and there’s lots of things happening in other countries, immigrant-sending countries. People are getting better educations, better economies, more opportunities.”

As conditions improve elsewhere, he says immigrants have less motivation to come to the U.S. Officials with the NPPC say in addition to this study, data compiled by USDA’s Economic Research Service shows a reduction in the foreign-born workforce prompted by a change in immigration policy would not be offset by native born workers and permanent residents.

The council is backing Congressional legislation calling for an H2C visa to allow non-seasonal foreign ag workers to stay in the U.S. for up to three years.

By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton