Ag Weather Impacts

Ag Weather Impacts

Rainfall over the past weekend was mainly less than a quarter inch. There were some exceptions though, most notably in the far southeast part of the Columbia Basin, south and east of Prescott to Pendleton to Condon where ½ to 1 inch was common and combined with snowmelt actually caused some minor flooding. A few light showers will exit the region this morning. We're looking at the next best chance for rain to come late Wednesday into early Thursday with around a tenth to a third of an inch common. The soils in the southern Columbia Basin which missed the heavier rain over the weekend should become dry enough for field preparation and spring planting this week. Soil temperatures in these areas have warmed into the upper 40s and lower 50s which is certainly warm enough to germinate spring grains, peas, and potatoes. In the areas where soils are currently wet from either recent rains or snowmelt, good drying can be expected today and early Wednesday and again Friday through the weekend and soils in these areas should warm into the lower to mid 40s. At this point, I don't see any significant cooling with temperatures averaging near to above normal through the first week of April. And this is also good news for fruit trees that are quickly coming out of dormancy. If you need to spray, plan on light winds today, but there is a high washoff risk on Wednesday night and Thursday. Better spraying conditions will return Friday into the weekend.
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