Drought Worries Pt 1

Drought Worries Pt 1

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. Are reports that Washington state is still in drought or extreme drought conditions wildly exaggerated? Depends on who you ask.

But University of Washington Atmospheric Sciences professor Cliff Mass says yeah, our snowpack is slightly below normal, currently, but that’s no reason to panic …

MASS … “It looks like we’re going to be wet and cold for the next month or so and that’s very important because we will be putting on more snowpack. So, I have a feeling we’re going to get at least to normal and probably above normal by the time this period is over.”

And that, Mass says will shore up the snowpack nicely …

MASS … “Considering the weather that I’m pretty certain we’re going to get, there’s no way we’re going to be way below normal on April 1st for snowpack. I mean, it’s just not going to happen. We’re going to be close to normal for snowpack.”

So, Mass says go easy on the drought rhetoric …

MASS … “Soil moisture, which is not in bad shape at all. I mean you’ve got to look at the fundamentals. It’s not like you have to catch up for the last five years or something. You know, it doesn’t work that way.”

But isn’t he at all worried about drought? …

MASS … “No, not at all. I mean, I think the Drought Monitor, that’s all subjective. I mean, there’s not really an objective measure of these names of theirs and I think they’re a little bit over enthusiastic about using these extreme drought terms.”

Tune in tomorrow for more on our drought worries and what the water supply is looking like as we head into spring.

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