We know that all diseases are sensitive to the environment to one extent or another, but there are a lot of gaps in what I know about the interaction of weather with the Asian soybean rust. The rust did become established in places where the winter did not kill the green vegetation that can serve as a host to this pathogen (it appears that reported temperatures of 25 F or less kill the green leaves). We must assume that the rust will be active this spring in the southern United States.