Ag Weather Impacts

Ag Weather Impacts

Rainfall last Friday night and Saturday was between 3 tenths and a half inch from Quincy, Ephrata, Warden, and Connell south to Pasco, Walla Walla and Pendleton. All other areas received less than a quarter inch. Looking back, April was a wet month across the Columbia Basin and Palouse with most farms getting above normal rainfall. The Tri Cities, Moses Lake and Wenatchee regions got twice as much as normal. Now going into May, NOAA's climate prediction center is calling for warmer and drier than normal not only for May, but also for June through August, so water conservation may be in order. For the next 7 days, it's going to be mostly dry with temperatures averaging above normal starting tomorrow as a ridge of high pressure settles over the area. A weak cold front may bring only isolated light showers Saturday afternoon and Sunday. Soil temperatures are in the lower and mid 60s except upper 50s in areas above 1000 feet elevation. Look for soils to warm 5 to 7 degrees this next week, which means good germination and development for nearly all vegetables and fruit. Spraying conditions will improve with light winds. I guess it's about time we started talking about evapotranspiration for lawns, alfalfa, and winter wheat. For the week, Winter wheat and alfalfa will use about an inch an a third and lawns will need about 1 inch of moisture.
Previous ReportAg Weather Impacts-Apple Pollination
Next ReportAg Weather Impacts