Ag Weather Impacts

While folks east of the Rockies are dealing with a polar vortex and brutal cold weather, the inland northwest will continue to have rather benign weather under high pressure these last few days of January. As the high pressure weakens and moves to the east, it will open the door for a moist southwest flow Friday into the weekend along with showers and milder air. Rainfall amounts of a tenth to a third of an inch are possible. For today through Thursday, though , some fields and orchard ground may become firm enough for equipment. Look for temperatures to average close to the late January normal and then warm to above normal this weekend when the nighttime temperatures remain above freezing. There is some potential, however for moderate cold stress this weekend for newborn or weak livestock if they are left exposed. Fortunately, winds should remain mainly under 10 mph. Soil temperatures are fairly uniform in the mid and upper 30s and very little change is expected for the next several days. Longer range models are showing the potential for a colder pattern to set up late next week, so we'll be watching if this becomes more likely. Mountain snowpack remains between 80 and 85 percent of the usual amount in the Yakima watershed for the lowest, but has improved to between 90 and 95 percent in the Columbia and lower Snake and is now over 100 percent in the Umatilla and Walla Walla Basins. I am not expecting any big changes over the next 10 days.