Ag Weather Impacts

Ag Weather Impacts

On Wednesday, NOAA's Climate prediction center updated their outlook for August which is predicting a warmer than normal August. Now, normally we start to see a week to week decline in the long term average temperatures during August across the Columbia Basin. This week high temperatures normally range from upper 80s to the lower 90s and these fall to the lower to mid 80s by the end of the month. The number of days with the temperature at least 90 degrees ranges from around 7 in the Ellensburg area to between 9 and 13 across the rest of the Columbia Basin. Most farms could have at least a dozen days of 90 plus temperatures this August. Only a few areas have touched 100 degrees this summer, but that could change with some hot weather during the early to middle part of next week. As far as rainfall is concerned, August is typically another dry month and the prediction is for that to hold true. Normal rainfall is between a quarter and a half inch, though the Walla Walla area usually gets close to ¾ inch. But don't expect the rain to cause any extensive delays to field work or harvest. Normally there's 2 to 4 days with at least a hundredth of an inch and only 1 to 2 days when the rain normally exceeds a tenth of an inch. The next best chance for light rain will be after the middle of next week.
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