by In a nutshell, I think 2013 could end up being one of the warmest summers we’ve had in a long time! At the very least, it could be a very dry summer. For those that remember the summer of 2009, it got a bit hot at times, but it went on and on and on and the grapes just loved it! (Then we had the dismal years of 2010-2011 which I hope we never see again!) The Climate Prediction Center is say that as of now (June 20th, 2013) we are headed for a warmer and drier than normal trend for the months of July, August and September.
If you look the image on the left, provided by the US Climate Prediction Center shows trends for above normal, normal and below normal temperatures for North America. Today is rainy and cold, but starting in a week or so they are predicting a warmer and drier trend for the rest of the summer. I have such high hopes, that I doubled down on my tomatoes this year and have 16 plants in the ground.
The image on the left is the map that predicts 30 days out from now and shows much warmer conditions across most of the west. The really good news is that this has been one of the warmest springs we’ve had in many years.
Here are the Growing Degree Days for Woodinville from the Ag Weather Net website which is developed by WSU. You can see the red line (2013) and how it popped up early in the spring and has pretty much stayed one of the warmest springs we’ve had in the past several years. 2009 has a steeper trend, but this year meet or beat that year. This is all good news for my grapes. I especially would like a crop of Chardonnay which I haven’t seen since 2009. Back then, I only had 6 rows of Chardonnay, but now I have 10 so I might be able to make a whole barrel of it in a traditional Burgundy method. Only time will tell and I’m betting with my tomatoes this year!
