Ag Weather Impacts

Ag Weather Impacts

The high pressure ridge that brought well above normal temperatures Sunday and Monday to the inland northwest has moved east. Now a low pressure area will give us cooler and unsettled showery weather beginning near the Cascades today and spreading east tonight and early Wednesday with amounts of ¼ to ¾ inch. The cold rain combined with 10 mph winds will likely cause moderate to severe cold stress for new born livestock or other exposed weak animals. On the other hand, this rain will help dissolve and move recently applied fertilizer into the root zone. A drier period is likely to return Thursday, but look for more scattered showers Friday through the weekend with additional rainfall less than a quarter inch. Two inch Soil temperatures range from the mid 40s in the Ellensburg, Wenatchee, and Moses Lake areas to around 50 down south in the Dalles, Hermiston, Pendleton and Walla Walla areas. Air temperatures will retreat to near normal for mid March, and so soil temperatures will likely fall 2 to 4 degrees over this next week. Overnight temperatures may dip close to critical levels for fruit trees, but it looks like there will be enough clouds and breeze to prevent widespread subfreezing conditions. Look for this week's precipitation to add to the snowpack above 5000 feet which currently stands at a little over 100 percent of normal in Washington and 75 to 85 percent in northern Oregon.
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