The heat is on in the west!
The National Weather Service says that Washington, Idaho, and Oregon could all experience their hottest June on record. They are seeing triple-digit temperatures.
In Washington, cherry growers are just beginning to see their crops ripen, and it is pushing them to harvest sooner rather than later. In Oregon, the state is working to develop rules to help protect farmworkers from excessive hear, but those will not be completed until after summer in September.
President Biden is expected to meet with western governors tomorrow to discuss heat threats, including wildfires.
Taking a deeper look into Oregon’s weather, the intense heat and dry weather are taking a toll on the water supply. Irrigation districts are already starting to talk about water reduction.
An NRCS agent says that these dry conditions are already impacting the state’s crops.
According to Scott Oviatt, “If you’re having an alfalfa cutting or hay cutting, you’re going to be looking at minimal cuttings. The concerns are with pasture and rangeland, there’s just a lack of soil moisture to support a lot of grazing, so there’s those concerns and the dryland wheat is a concern as well. So, all across the board, there’s concerns across the state and across the region.”
Oviatt says that this year started off with a lot of potential, thanks to healthy winter snowpacks, but that melted early in the season.
Related:
USDA meteorologist on “mega drought”
Western parts of the U.S. facing mega drought
Idaho, Northern Plain producers face heavy drought concerns
Water crisis “couldn’t be worse” on Oregon/California border
Dire drought brings implications to water supplies and grasshopper plague