285: Weather Cycles, Severe Storms, and the Spring Forecast with Gary Lezak

Today Lauren is joined once again by Gary Lezak to discuss the latest weather developments impacting producers across the Midwest and Plains. Gary shares insight into the recent severe weather outbreaks that brought large hail and storms across Kansas and surrounding states and explains how those events fit into a larger repeating weather cycle he tracks in his long-range forecasting model. The conversation also covers an upcoming cold front expected to bring a hard freeze, what that could mean for early planting, and why producers should be paying attention to these seasonal weather patterns. Gary also discusses the possibility of a major heat pattern developing later this summer across parts of the Plains and how that could impact agriculture heading into July and August.

Links

Weather 20/20 Dashboard Discount⁠ - https://www.weather2020.com/partner/cattle-usa
Substack - https://weather2020.substack.com/
The Global Predictor App ⁠- ⁠https://www.weather2020.com/global-predictor-mobile-app
Youtube⁠ -https://www.youtube.com/@Weather2020
Follow Gary on X ⁠- https://x.com/glezak
CattleUSA Insurance - https://info.cattleusainsurance.com/l/1102253/2025-06-04/288f5m
⁠CattleUSA Website - https://www.cattleusa.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/cattleusamedia
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cattleusa.media/
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Lauren’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_laurenmoylan/
Lauren’s Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Showboatmediaco
The Next Generation Podcast Website - https://www.thenextgenag.com/

Key Takeaways

• Recent severe weather across the Midwest produced large hail and storm activity across Kansas and surrounding areas

• Gary explains how these storms fit into a larger repeating weather cycle that his forecasting model tracks

• His system aims to identify severe weather windows 75–150 days in advance

• A strong cold front moving through the region could bring a hard freeze before St. Patrick’s Day

• Producers preparing for planting should be cautious about early planting before this cold snap passes

• A persistent weather feature Gary calls an “anchor ridge” has contributed to warmer and drier conditions across parts of the Plains

• Denver experienced an unusually warm winter with a record number of 60-degree days

• The same long-range pattern could lead to a significant heat wave across parts of the Plains later this summer

• Areas along the eastern edge of that heat pattern could experience increased thunderstorm activity known as the “Ring of Fire”

Chapters

00:00 Intro and episode overview

01:05 Gary’s trip to New York and subway story

03:30 Recent severe weather across Kansas and the Midwest

06:45 How Gary’s long-range weather predictions work

11:20 Upcoming cold front and potential hard freeze

13:00 Weather cycles and repeating seasonal patterns

15:00 Summer heat outlook and the “Ring of Fire” pattern

16:40 Final thoughts and outlook for the week

Gary Lezak weather forecast, Midwest weather update, Kansas severe weather, Plains weather pattern, agriculture weather forecast, hard freeze forecast, long range weather prediction, farming weather outlook, severe storms Midwest, anchor ridge weather pattern, Ring of Fire weather pattern, summer heat forecast Plains, agricultural weather planning, Midwest storm outlook