04/06/07 Keeping an eye on the weather

Even though the weather is warming and the trees are blooming, spring can be a dangerous time for fruit growers. Frost can cause serious damage to fruit trees. Over the last several nights many producers have not been getting much sleep as they monitor conditions and work to keep trees from getting nipped by the cold temperatures. A new tool has been unveiled. It's called the AgWeatherNet and it replaces the old PAWS and PAWS 2 systems. Dan Kelly of the Washington Growers League says it's an important update. KELLY: Well like right now with frost. With buds starting to come out you need to know what your temperatures are going to be in your location because what the temperature is in the Tri-Cities is quite different than what is in Mattawa or Wenatchee versus Leavenworth or whatever you know. So AgWeather has these stations in different locations so you're going to get more accurate temperature and weather related information. A quick look at the new site shows an interactive, zoomable map with current weather data listed for 81 weather stations located mostly in irrigated regions of Eastern Washington. Kelly says the AgWeatherNet is a great improvement over the old PAWS system. KELLY: Now there's some newer technology on top of that so I mean it's going to definitely be an improvement. To visit the site go to www.weather.wsu.edu. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.