Weather Outlook Pt 2
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with today’s Fruit grower Report. Despite the tone of many recent weather stories, based on what scientists know now, our weather is looking pretty good for Northwest growers this year.
University of Washington Atmospheric Sciences Professor, Cliff Mass says no, it’s not been “normal,” but what is normal …
MASS … “The truth of the matter is there’s a lot of variability in weather. Weather is rarely normal. And normal is often an average of extremes wet and extremes dry. So, the fact that you have a year that’s not normal, that’s not unusual. And you can’t panic every time we see something different than the average.”
And all of this weather drama, Mass says is out there, but not necessarily in the negative way that it’s portrayed …
MASS … “I mean I think this is very dramatic, this pattern that’s locked in. And it’s caused California to have one of the wettest periods its ever seen. This is a record-breaking, cool, wet year down there.”
So bottom line, Mass says, it’s really not bad …
MASS … “But, you know, all this gloom and doom is just inappropriate because it’s not like the crops are in trouble or anything. It’s not like the reservoirs aren’t full. The reservoirs have enough water. There’s enough water for agriculture and temperatures, you know, are relatively moderate. So, it’s kind of nice weather. So, I mean, what’s not to like about this.”
And, Mass says this year’s dry side of the state, Western Washington got a little relief over the weekend.
