01/19/06 Weather forecast for spring thru fall

01/19/06 Weather forecast for spring thru fall

Farm and Ranch January 19, 2006 You can thank warm water in the central Pacific Ocean just north of Hawaii for all the moisture and mild temperatures we've been getting in the Pacific Northwest. But Art Douglas of Creighton University's Atmospheric Sciences Department told the Pacific Northwest Farm Forum in Spokane this week, that is going to change somewhat later this winter. Douglas: "So as we look forward late winter-early spring, it looks like the dwindling warmth of the ocean is going to eventually lead to high pressure building in the central Pacific. This then is going to change the jet from the southwest orientation that has brought in so much moisture to more of a northwest orientation which means a lot cooler temperatures, lower snow levels and consequently though also somewhat lower precipitation. So after having had way above normal precipitation looks like by early spring it will be about normal. Then as get towards summer expecting then much drier than normal conditions and also warmer than normal during the summer." Douglas said northwest precipitation could be about 110 percent of normal this spring and temperatures about a half degree below normal. He sees the cooler temperatures helping out with the snow pack and slowing snow melt. So after a hot dry summer what does Douglas see for the fall of 2006? Douglas: "Maybe we won't be as warm as last fall but we should at least be above normal throughout the central Pacific which should lead then to at least another normal if not a wetter than normal fall as we go into next year's planting." I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
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