Climate of the Great Plains

The Great Plains has a continental climate. Most areas have cold winters and hot summers, little precipitation, low humidity, windy weather, and drastic temperature changes. Moisture mainly comes from the Gulf of Mexico, with less moisture heading north and west. Annual rainfall is 380 to 640 millimeters (15 to 25 inches) in the southern plains, 12 to 15 inches in the northern plains, 25 inches on the eastern edge of Nebraska, and less than 15 inches on the western edge of Montana. The southern part of the Canadian Great Plains receives 10 to 20 inches of rainfall and has a growing season of 70 to 110 days. The growing season averages 240 days in Texas, 120 days on the U.S.-Canada border, and 70 to 110 days in the prairie provinces.

Continental climate

The climate is semi-arid continental, with cold winters and hot summers. When there is a cold wave in winter, the temperature can drop a lot and severe frost can spread to Texas. But in winter, when there is a warm wind called Chinooks, it is extremely beneficial to agriculture and animal husbandry. In winter and spring, this wind often blows southeastward, melting away ice and snow and raising temperatures, which is conducive to livestock grazing. But when winter monsoons called Blizzards hit, they create storms accompanied by heavy snow, causing great damage to the livestock industry. In summer, the days are very hot, but the nights are cool, and the temperature varies greatly. Compared with the coldest month of the year and the hottest month, the temperature difference exceeds 33°C. Annual precipitation is less than 500 mm, and local, seasonal and inter-annual changes are considerable, posing a great threat to the stability of agricultural production.

Weather disasters

In the Great Plains, the main types of weather disasters are as follows: 1. Drought: with certain periodic changes; 2. Dust storms: due to dry land , loose, coupled with the violent disturbance of strong winds and airflows, there are many dust storms; 3. Floods: Especially in summer, due to the impact of heavy rains and the difficulty of drainage in the plains, floods occur from time to time; 4. Land tornadoes: often occur every year starting from April The occurrence, although localized, is extremely destructive.