Ag Weather Impacts

Ag Weather Impacts

Rainfall last Thursday and Friday was mainly a quarter inch or less across the Columbia Basin. Heavier amounts ½ to 1 inch were received north of Ellensburg to Moses Lake and the Blue mountain foothills. Plan on mostly clear skies again tonight to allow temperatures to fall into the 25 to 30 degree range in most areas, so another night of frost protection may be needed for budding plants and fruit trees. Then a rather active weather pattern returns. Look for the next Pacific weather system to produce rain tomorrow night and Thursday, with amounts a quarter of an inch or less. This will slow orchard and field work. And then we're looking at another pacific low pressure area to bring a chance for rain again Sunday night and Monday. Soil temperatures have recovered to the 35 to 40 degree range and will likely continue slowly warming into the lower to mid 40s during the next 7 days. This will allow germination and early development of spring wheat and barley. The seasonal temperatures will also spur development of winter wheat and pastures. Late February and early March storms have freshened the mountain snowpack and it has rebounded to 80 percent of normal in northern Oregon to around 100 percent or higher in Washington. Now it looks like most of this snowpack should stay through much of the rest of March as the temperature outlook continues a trend of near to below normal.
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