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Back in April there was a lot of talk that this would be an El Nino year. Warm water was coming up to the surface out in the middle of the Pacific ocean and during El Nino we get some of the warmest and driest weather we see. Albeit, we basically go into a drought situation every summer here in the Pacific Northwest, but during El Nino it gets even drier and hotter. It was with great anticipation that I looked forward to this year and the grapes I would get from my vineyard. In April we got off to a great start and by the beginning of June it looked like it was going to be living up to expectations, but then what typically happens in June around here we get into the June gloom. I’m beginning to wonder if the El Nino is falling apart already or we just haven’t seen it show up yet.
One thing I have been noticing from the climate prediction center that their medium range forecasts are getting wetter but not necessarily cooler. The image on the left shows the 14 day forecast from June 19th. I would probably bring my umbrella for your 4th of July fireworks if this holds out and again not looking very good for the grapes. It especially doesn’t look good for the east coast where it’s supposed to be hot and rainy which means thunderstorms and tornadoes this time of the year. The 1 month and 3 month outlooks still look good, but we shall see!
