PROSSER, Wash.—Washington tree fruit growers are often at the mercy of Mother Nature when it comes to weather. Case in point: the severe thunderstorms of July 20 that, in some areas of south central Washington, battered apple crops with golf ball-sized hail, leaving some orchards with losses of 100 percent.
PROSSER, Wash. – Severe thunderstorms, torrential downpours, flash flooding, and large hail may sound like typical summer weather in the Midwest, but also aptly describes Washington’s July weather.
PROSSER, Wash. – While Washington has been spared the devastating droughts and fires that farmers and ranchers in other parts of the nation are contending with, the region has experienced damaging storms. The USDA reports that U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is using his authority to flex programs in order to provide relief for […]
PROSSER, Wash. – June weather in Washington was ‘déjà vu all over again.’ Despite early glimpses of summer in April and May, Washington weather regressed into a chilly spring during June, with conditions that were eerily reminiscent of 2011. “Many AgWeatherNet locations recorded temperatures of 2 to 3 degrees below average, along with unusually wet […]
PROSSER, Wash. – After 2011’s chilly spring temperatures, this spring was a relief to Washington’s growers. Although not unusually hot, the relative warmth was welcome, especially when compared to the record cold and the associated crop damage of last spring.
Flight of the Alkali Bee Can a bee learn to fly over, instead of across, a busy highway? WSU entomologist Douglas Walsh is working with the Washington State Department of Transportation to find out. Walsh will study alkali bees and their flight around a stretch of U.S. Highway 12 in central Washington to help WSDOT […]
WSU Scientist Pays It Forward with Agrotechnology Knowledge Sharing Knowledge is power, and in data-poor regions of the world, techniques that make data collection more efficient are a boon for local researchers and the stakeholders they serve. That’s why WSU agro-meteorologist Gerrit Hoogenboom helped lead a series of workshops in Tanzania, Ghana, and Kenya to […]
PROSSER, Wash. – Time heals all wounds and, for many Washingtonians, the chilly and inclement weather of last spring is just a distant memory. The warmth and sunshine of late April has certainly helped to erase the memory of last spring’s record cold. That’s good news for growers and gardeners. “Despite periods of unusual weather […]
Knowledge is power, and in data-poor regions of the world, techniques that make data collection more efficient are a boon for local researchers and the stakeholders they serve. That’s why WSU agrometeorologist Gerrit Hoogenboom helped lead a series of workshops in Tanzania, Ghana and Kenya to transfer decision-support system technologies to researchers in African nations.
PROSSER, Wash. — Sometimes you have to see the game to understand what really happened. If ever there was a time when the scorecard failed to capture the essence of an event, it was this winter. “Although Washington’s 2011 – 2012 winter season was fairly average according to the numbers, it was far from a […]