Ag Weather Impacts

Pleasant mild and dry fall weather that we’ve seen the past few days will be changing today. A fast moving cold front will cross the Cascades this morning and sweep across the Columbia Basin this afternoon. Look for shifting winds signaling the frontal passage in the Kittitas valley between 11 am and noon, Moses Lake around 2 pm, Hermiston around 4 pm and Pendleton and walla Walla around 5 pm. The Kittitas valley should have the strongest gusts at 40 to 5 mph. Only spotty light showers with the front, so late harvest and winter wheat planting should be able to proceed, but colder air behind the front will drop temperatures 5 to 15 degrees for Saturday. The coldest air will be over the region Sunday and Monday. Look for Monday morning temperatures to be mainly in the lower and mid 20s, and some of the coldest areas may get down to the upper teens. Two inch soil temperatures are currently averaging in the upper 40s and lower 50s and will likely drop in the 5 to 7 degrees by Monday. Winter wheat has certainly tinged the fields a nice shade of green these past few weeks. Below normal temperatures into the first few days of November will slow wheat development and emergence of late planted winter wheat. The next chance for rain may hold off for another 10 to 12 days.