Leroy N. Soetoro
2022-10-23 18:46:00 UTC
https://www.accuweather.com/en/business/mississippi-river-nears-record-
low-water-level/1262305
Supply chain concerns are once again on the rise across the United States,
but the cause and solution to the issue are one and the same: the weather.
The supply chain across the nation's heartland is facing significant
constraints that could have far-reaching consequences into the winter,
starting with farmers in the Plains and expanding all the way to the
overall economy of the United States.
Exacerbating the problem are the low water levels of the Mississippi
River, a crucial waterway for commerce that has seen a steady decline in
its flow in recent months due to a lack of rain. A river gauge at Osceola,
Arkansas, 35 miles north of Memphis, Tennessee, reported a water level of
8.8 feet below what is considered low stage on Wednesday, Oct. 12, the
fourth-lowest water level at the location since record-keeping began in
1927.
At least eight barges ran aground earlier in the month due to the low
water levels, according to The Associated Press. The risk of barges
getting stuck continues to rise with each passing day as the water level
continues to fall, putting additional stress on the shipping and barge
traffic that rely on the largest U.S. river for transportation.
"It's a really integral part of our overall economy, and it's particularly
so for agriculture," Michael Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy
Transportation Coalition, told AccuWeather in an interview.
The commerce on the Mississippi River accounts for 92% of the country's
agricultural exports, 60% of all grain exports and 78% of feed grains,
soybeans and livestock exports.
The timing of the drought and falling water levels could not have come at
a worse time for farmers.
"We are in the middle of the harvest season and this is the most active
time," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said. "Barge
trafficking is the heaviest means to transport agricultural products."
"If this cannot be controlled, grains cannot get to the ports to transport
to other countries," Pastelok said, adding that it could hurt farmers and
the overall U.S. economy.
Between Sept. 12 and Oct. 12, the Mississippi River watershed received
just a fraction of the average rainfall. Memphis, Tennessee, did not even
measure 0.01 of an inch of rain during this time frame.
Steenhoek told AccuWeather that concerns over the current situation
started to arise nearly a year ago during the winter of 2021-2022 when
there was a scarcity of snowfall across the Mississippi River basin.
"A lot of the water that you see on the lower Mississippi River, it
originally starts as a snowflake in Montana," he said. "It just continued
to compound and of course summer we didn't get much rainfall, so now we're
in the situation we're in today."
Steenhoek explained that the demand for crops, such as soybean and corn,
is well exceeding the supply due to the reduced shipping on the
Mississippi River.
Barges can still navigate down the river, but they may be loaded with
fewer goods in order to keep afloat in shallow water. However, this means
that the shipping method is less efficient, ultimately leading to higher
costs.
"We're seeing well in excess of over 100% increase in the cost of barge
freight now versus the same period last year," he explained. "What often
happens within the agricultural industry and what's certainly happening
right now is those costs are being largely passed on to the farmer. How is
that passed on to the farmer? Well, in the form of a lower price that
those farmers are offered at that point of sale."
Shipping has not ground to a halt, but it has been significantly reduced.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers normally moves between 30 and 40 barges
at a time, but that number has been cut to 25 barges due to the extremely
low water level, the AP reported. Barge traffic has been reduced by 39%
compared to the previous five years.
Plain and simple, the solution for this is rain, we gotta have rain and
were gonna need and youre gonna need a lot of it, Tyler Oxner, with the
Arkansas Farm Bureau, told KATV, a news station based out of Little Rock,
Arkansas.
The fallout from the reduced flow of the Mississippi is also impacting the
travel industry.
A Viking cruise ship on the Mississippi River recently set sail on its
maiden voyage, starting in Louisiana with the goal of taking passengers up
the river to St. Paul, Minnesota, but as passenger R Thomas Berner told
AccuWeather, the cruise fell well short of its destination.
Berner said that after departing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, it was
evident that the low water level was going to derail the voyage.
"We were stopping frequently, and at some point we had to pull over to the
shore and anchor along with many barges because the Coast Guard had said
that a couple of barges had run into shallow water," Berner told
AccuWeather.
"At one point, there were 50 vessels backed up coming downriver and
another 50 going upriver," he added.
The cruise ship did not even make it to Memphis, Tennessee, before the
entire trip was canceled due to the low water level.
"It was boring," Berner said. "I got tired of taking photographs of the
shoreline that showed how low the river was." However, he added that he
was refunded for the trip and he and his wife plan on going on more Viking
cruises.
Conditions on the Mississippi River could get worse before they improve
with Pastelok saying that the long-range forecast does not look very wet
for the region.
"This could go on through the winter and into the start of spring,"
Pastelok explained. "The only hope is some relief from the Ohio and
Tennessee tributaries which drain into the Mississippi River. There is a
chance by mid to late winter, east of the Mississippi River can be wetter
as a winter storm track evolves. But farther west, the precipitation
forecast is drier at this time."
AccuWeather long-range forecasters are predicting a wet weather pattern to
eventually set up across most of the Mississippi River Valley this winter
with snow across the northern Plains. These factors should help ease
drought concerns and raise the water level on the Mississippi River, but
it will take time for this forecast to come to fruition.
"We're seeing the conditions deteriorate with each passing day," Steenhoek
said. "There's not a lot of reason for optimism on the horizon. There's
not alot you can do now."
https://www.accuweather.com/en/business/mississippi-river-nears-record-
low-water-level/1262305
--
"LOCKDOWN", left-wing COVID fearmongering. 95% of COVID infections
recover with no after effects.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.
Donald J. Trump, cheated out of a second term by fraudulent "mail-in"
ballots. Report voter fraud: ***@mail.house.gov
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.
low-water-level/1262305
Supply chain concerns are once again on the rise across the United States,
but the cause and solution to the issue are one and the same: the weather.
The supply chain across the nation's heartland is facing significant
constraints that could have far-reaching consequences into the winter,
starting with farmers in the Plains and expanding all the way to the
overall economy of the United States.
Exacerbating the problem are the low water levels of the Mississippi
River, a crucial waterway for commerce that has seen a steady decline in
its flow in recent months due to a lack of rain. A river gauge at Osceola,
Arkansas, 35 miles north of Memphis, Tennessee, reported a water level of
8.8 feet below what is considered low stage on Wednesday, Oct. 12, the
fourth-lowest water level at the location since record-keeping began in
1927.
At least eight barges ran aground earlier in the month due to the low
water levels, according to The Associated Press. The risk of barges
getting stuck continues to rise with each passing day as the water level
continues to fall, putting additional stress on the shipping and barge
traffic that rely on the largest U.S. river for transportation.
"It's a really integral part of our overall economy, and it's particularly
so for agriculture," Michael Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy
Transportation Coalition, told AccuWeather in an interview.
The commerce on the Mississippi River accounts for 92% of the country's
agricultural exports, 60% of all grain exports and 78% of feed grains,
soybeans and livestock exports.
The timing of the drought and falling water levels could not have come at
a worse time for farmers.
"We are in the middle of the harvest season and this is the most active
time," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said. "Barge
trafficking is the heaviest means to transport agricultural products."
"If this cannot be controlled, grains cannot get to the ports to transport
to other countries," Pastelok said, adding that it could hurt farmers and
the overall U.S. economy.
Between Sept. 12 and Oct. 12, the Mississippi River watershed received
just a fraction of the average rainfall. Memphis, Tennessee, did not even
measure 0.01 of an inch of rain during this time frame.
Steenhoek told AccuWeather that concerns over the current situation
started to arise nearly a year ago during the winter of 2021-2022 when
there was a scarcity of snowfall across the Mississippi River basin.
"A lot of the water that you see on the lower Mississippi River, it
originally starts as a snowflake in Montana," he said. "It just continued
to compound and of course summer we didn't get much rainfall, so now we're
in the situation we're in today."
Steenhoek explained that the demand for crops, such as soybean and corn,
is well exceeding the supply due to the reduced shipping on the
Mississippi River.
Barges can still navigate down the river, but they may be loaded with
fewer goods in order to keep afloat in shallow water. However, this means
that the shipping method is less efficient, ultimately leading to higher
costs.
"We're seeing well in excess of over 100% increase in the cost of barge
freight now versus the same period last year," he explained. "What often
happens within the agricultural industry and what's certainly happening
right now is those costs are being largely passed on to the farmer. How is
that passed on to the farmer? Well, in the form of a lower price that
those farmers are offered at that point of sale."
Shipping has not ground to a halt, but it has been significantly reduced.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers normally moves between 30 and 40 barges
at a time, but that number has been cut to 25 barges due to the extremely
low water level, the AP reported. Barge traffic has been reduced by 39%
compared to the previous five years.
Plain and simple, the solution for this is rain, we gotta have rain and
were gonna need and youre gonna need a lot of it, Tyler Oxner, with the
Arkansas Farm Bureau, told KATV, a news station based out of Little Rock,
Arkansas.
The fallout from the reduced flow of the Mississippi is also impacting the
travel industry.
A Viking cruise ship on the Mississippi River recently set sail on its
maiden voyage, starting in Louisiana with the goal of taking passengers up
the river to St. Paul, Minnesota, but as passenger R Thomas Berner told
AccuWeather, the cruise fell well short of its destination.
Berner said that after departing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, it was
evident that the low water level was going to derail the voyage.
"We were stopping frequently, and at some point we had to pull over to the
shore and anchor along with many barges because the Coast Guard had said
that a couple of barges had run into shallow water," Berner told
AccuWeather.
"At one point, there were 50 vessels backed up coming downriver and
another 50 going upriver," he added.
The cruise ship did not even make it to Memphis, Tennessee, before the
entire trip was canceled due to the low water level.
"It was boring," Berner said. "I got tired of taking photographs of the
shoreline that showed how low the river was." However, he added that he
was refunded for the trip and he and his wife plan on going on more Viking
cruises.
Conditions on the Mississippi River could get worse before they improve
with Pastelok saying that the long-range forecast does not look very wet
for the region.
"This could go on through the winter and into the start of spring,"
Pastelok explained. "The only hope is some relief from the Ohio and
Tennessee tributaries which drain into the Mississippi River. There is a
chance by mid to late winter, east of the Mississippi River can be wetter
as a winter storm track evolves. But farther west, the precipitation
forecast is drier at this time."
AccuWeather long-range forecasters are predicting a wet weather pattern to
eventually set up across most of the Mississippi River Valley this winter
with snow across the northern Plains. These factors should help ease
drought concerns and raise the water level on the Mississippi River, but
it will take time for this forecast to come to fruition.
"We're seeing the conditions deteriorate with each passing day," Steenhoek
said. "There's not a lot of reason for optimism on the horizon. There's
not alot you can do now."
https://www.accuweather.com/en/business/mississippi-river-nears-record-
low-water-level/1262305
--
"LOCKDOWN", left-wing COVID fearmongering. 95% of COVID infections
recover with no after effects.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.
Donald J. Trump, cheated out of a second term by fraudulent "mail-in"
ballots. Report voter fraud: ***@mail.house.gov
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.