Ag Weather Impacts

Ag Weather Impacts

According to the USDA drought monitor, drought conditions in the Columbia Basin range from abnormally dry east of Boardman, Prosser, and Wenatchee to moderate or severe drought elsewhere. Now we are looking at a return to a more active weather pattern this week and early next week. The first front will move across the area this afternoon and evening but will only shift the winds and get rid of the temperature inversions causing the pesky haziness, so by Wednesday, much better smoke dispersion is expected. The next weather system on Thursday followed by another Sunday and Monday could bring a quarter to half inch of rain. And, If you are closer to the Cascades or Blue Mountains, you may get one half to one inch. On top of that, additional rain is possible the first weekend of November. So it appears the drought situation at least won't get any worse in the short term. The rain will certainly help to bring pastures out of dormancy and also with winter wheat seedling development, but will slow corn, sugarbeet, and fruit harvest. Soil temperatures are currently in the lower and mid 50s and will likely warm a few degrees this week and then retreat to the lower 50s over the weekend and early next week. There does not appear to be any hard freezing temperatures the rest of October.
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