Ag Weather Impacts

Ag Weather Impacts

The high pressure ridge which has held sway this week is getting pushed to the east by an upper level trof which will bring Pacific moisture and milder air. But as is usually the case during winter, we can have a mix of precipitation when the pacific air overtakes the cold air near the surface in the Columbia Basin. So, until the cold air gets scoured out we may have a little freezing rain or snow late Sunday into Monday morning. Some of the impacts could be brief delays for farm to market travel and a few hours of cold stress for livestock, especially young or weak animals. Temperatures should rise above freezing across the area Monday afternoon and average near to slightly above normal for the rest of the week. Additional weather systems are likely mainly Tuesday night and again Friday with rain or snow in the northern Columbia Basin and mostly rain south of Yakima to Connell. Precipitation amounts should be a tenth to a third of an inch with up to a half inch near the Cascades and Blue Mountains. Snowfall of 8 to 14 inches is possible in the mountains. The latest drought monitor shows abnormally dry to moderate drought, so moisture is welcome. Now, I noticed the central and southern plains winter wheat areas have no drought. And This is certainly a big turn around from last winter and this spring when they were in a severe or even exceptional drought, the worst designation. It is likely the el nino pattern will continue to bring beneficial moisture to that region.
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