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[TheCooler]

Hurricane forecasters have already predicted an above-average season - saying we could see as many as 17 severe storms in the Atlantic this year. Bill Proenza, the director of the National Hurricane Center, told the Associated Press, "it looks like this year will be busier because the El Nino pattern has diminished and steering currents appear to be shifting in a way that would lead tropical systems toward land rather than back out to the ocean."

I don't have to tell you what a bad hurricane season is like. The news footage from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after Katrina is all you need to remember. But also keep in mind what it did to [COLOR=green! important][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif][COLOR=green! important][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]fuel [/FONT][COLOR=green! important][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]prices[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] and food prices.

Toss in other La Nina effects - and you have a recipe for disaster. The last time we faced a bad La Nina was 1998-2001. Yes, three years of La Nina weather. Douglas Lecomte of the NOAA Climate Prediction Center says it "contributed to serious drought conditions in many sections of the Western United States."

In America's heartland, corn is already getting pricy. A dry summer in the mid-West will only further reduce stores and send prices even higher. Florida could lose a large portion of that precious orange crop. The South could see fields upon fields of decimated cotton.

That's bad news for farmers and consumers. But for natural resource investors, it's almost a guaranteed fortune in the making. The right plays on the right commodities could quickly turn a few thousand dollars into ten thousand dollars or more.

What do you think?<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

 

[heart222]

Hi. seems as if the hurricane season is after the peak of corn and bean polination. Corn peaks mid -july and beans mid- august. The la Nino-nina effect could cause a hot July and thus corn and beans could rally. Not sure how much effect that would have on cattle if west is dry. Cotton is a hardy crop and unless the fields are destroyed along with the roads to them dont think much will happen. best way to play all of that is look atthe ten day weatherforcasts for places like demoines,memphis,indianapolis. It takes heat over 95 to really pressurecrops. If thegrains are drifting one can always buy cheap out of the money calls for say nov or dec contracts or possibly the sept contracts better for the weather play.
The real issue is the guys with the money the hedgers etc know whats going on and the price movements will tell you whats expected. I recognize this is not a bullish view but betting on extreamly hot weather is like betting on the nats to win the pennant. best of luck. heart222