Ag Weather Impacts

The Pacific front that brought showers to the Columbia Basin overnight has moved into Idaho. A few light showers will linger across mainly the foothills of the Blue Mountains this morning with additional rainfall less than a tenth of an inch. You can plan on a ridge of high pressure to rebuild over the area tomorrow and Thursday, and then weaken on Friday. This will allow another Pacific front will move across the region with another chance for showers Sunday into Monday. The westerly flow with this system means precipitation will be limited to just east of the Cascade crest and the Blue Mountain foothaills with amounts under a quarter inch. Look for a cooler temperatures Wednesday and temperatures averaging slightly below normal into early next week. The outlook for Wednesday through Saturday of Thanksgiving week is for unsettled conditions with temperatures slightly below normal. We do have a few impacts from this weather pattern. First of all, livestock should continue to thrive with the near seasonal temperatures and only light precipitation. Where moisture is suitable, pastures and winter grains will continue to develop slowly, but colder nights and limited sunlight are pushing some areas into dormancy. Soil temperatures are in the lower and mid 40s and will likely become 2 to 4 degrees cooler this week. On the negative side, mountain snowpack is sparse for areas that feed reservoirs and rivers across the Columbia Basin at less than 50 percent of what it usually is for mid November, so not looking good for early into the water year.