Ag Weather Impacts

Ag Weather Impacts

The high pressure ridge that allowed the fog and low clouds to persist across the area since late last week is beginning to weaken and move east. Cold air though remains trapped near the surface, so when the first pacific moisture returns to the area, there may be areas of light freezing rain or snow Wednesday night and early Thursday. The chance for freezing rain or snow will be higher in the Washington portion of the Columbia Basin and may disrupt farm deliveries and farm to market transport Thursday morning. Delays should be brief since the cold air near the ground should erode and be replaced with just rain and warmer air that is closer to normal Thursday afternoon into the weekend. You can expect rainfall amounts of a quarter to half inch. Now, If you have newborn or weak livestock, be prepared to provide shelter Wednesday night and Thursday due to the cool wet conditions. Otherwise, vulnerable livestock may experience moderate to severe cold stress. Fortunately, winds are likely to be under 10 mph most of the time. The cold stress potential should decrease with the above normal temperatures Friday into the weekend, even though additional rain is expected. Soil temperatures at the two inch depth have fallen slightly since late last week, but should stabilize and may even rise a little by the end of this week. Pastures and winter wheat development will be best south of Yakima to Lind where growing degrees will be accumulating at least 10 per day for Friday through Monday.
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