World Grain - September 2016 - 102

WORLD GRAIN WEATHER REPORT

CHINA
T

enduring extreme
weather this summer

he longer you live in this world, the greater the odds
are that you will see some form of repetition in lifecycles. Those cycles may be as vague as returning
fashion that occurred decades ago to something as complex
as a human trait perpetuated over and over again in multiple
generations within the same family. These cycles of repetition occur in all forms of life on this planet and the weather
is certainly no exception.
The single most important law that must be followed in atmospheric cycles is the law of equilibrium. The atmosphere,
despite its enormous complexity, must stay in some form of
equilibrium. There is only so much energy available in the
atmosphere and if some weather phenomenon exhausts an energy source, then change occurs in the atmosphere that gives
off new energy to maintain the same amount of total energy
that was available in the atmosphere to begin with.
However, the atmosphere is very large and very complex,
VRLWPD\EHFRPHGLI¿FXOWWRVHHDOORIWKHFKDQJHVWKDWDUH
taking place to keep the atmosphere in an energy balance. You
may have noticed over the years that enormous storms that
produce extended periods of thunderstorms, generating sigQL¿FDQWUDLQIDOOÀRRGLQJOLJKWQLQJDQGVWURQJZLQGRIWHQDUH
followed by periods of tranquil weather and generally stable
conditions. That is just one example of equilibrium over a localized region. But remember, the world is a huge playground
of energy exchanges, and numerous large storm systems may
appear at the same time in various areas around the world.
However, the same amount of energy is still present whether
there are 2 or 22 storm systems.
In order for the earth to not implode on itself, the outward
motion of the spinning planet must be equally balanced with
gravity. And the force of gravity must be equally balanced
102

by Drew Lerner

Near record-setting rainfall in Yangtze
River Basin has been followed by
unusually hot, dry conditions

with the earth's centrifugal force created by its high rate of
spinning. If the force of gravity was less than the centrifugal
force, the world would explode.
The same thing happens with general weather patterns.
There must be an equal number of areas experiencing tranquil
weather as there are areas experiencing stormy conditions.
This has to be the case or, again, the earth would be out of
balance with itself and no equilibrium would exist. Based on
this fact, one can easily predict that when weather conditions
are quite extreme, a more tranquil period is sure to follow.
Sometimes it does not follow in the exact place where the
extreme conditions once occurred, but the bottom line is that
somewhere in the world there has to be some tranquil conditions to bring on that equality of energy worldwide.
Weather conditions in China this summer have illustrated
this best. China's Yangtze River Basin experienced torrenWLDOUDLQDQGÀRRGLQJRIDYHU\VHYHUHQDWXUHGXULQJWKHZHHN
HQGHG-XO\$FRXSOHRIZHHNVODWHUDVHULRXVÀRRGDIIHFWed a part of northeastern China. During the month of July, a
near record amount of rain fell across the middle and lower
Yangtze River Basin area, resulting in 8 to more than 22 inches of precipitation. The phenomenal month of rainfall damSeptember 2016 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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World Grain - September 2016

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