Weather Outlook Pt 2
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with today’s Fruit Grower Report. With triple-digit August temps across much of Eastern Washington, it might seem a little early to be talking about fall weather, but it is coming upon us quickly,University of Washington atmospheric science professor, Cliff Mass says it may be warm now, but the past winter was good for agriculture …
MASS … “Yeah, well the snowpack this year was quite good and it was actually, relatively late melting, so, I mean the melt-out date at Paradise was 16 days later than average.”
And that helped, Mass says keep things from getting too dry …
MASS … “So, we’re actually in quite good shape on the wildfires. Great, great shape with the water.
Agriculture, except for the cold damage, is doing relatively well. So, it’s, I think you have to be pushing it to say that we’re in some kind of existential threat, climate thing right now.”
But Mass says that doesn’t mean things aren’t getting warmer …
MASS … “And we are a little bit warmer. I mean, just think about this, it’s kind of 2-degress up from where we were 50-years ago or so. So, that’s how it’s changed, but having warm periods and cool periods, that kind of stuff, you know, this is pretty typical.”
Mass says it’s all about perspective …
MASS … “We are just a little bit warmer than we were, but the extreme side is not changing by that much. And so, the extreme warmth is actually up much less than the low temperatures. So, that’s an interesting detail, but it’s important.”
So far, Mass says it appears La Nina will be with us again this winter.