2 PINEAPPLE EXPRESS ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS TO AFFECT CALIFORNIA
Pair of major “Pineapple Express”-type atmospheric rivers to affect California Wed-Mon; elevated flood and wind risk
There will be two separate major storm events in the next 7 days in California. The first will arrive in NorCal on Wednesday and sweep across SoCal on Thursday. This system will feature a strong atmospheric river of the “Pineapple Express” variety: it has a clear connection to subtropical moisture along a moisture transport axis extending southwestward to the Hawaiian Islands. This system has the potential to bring a 6-12 hour period of heavy to locally very heavy rainfall in NorCal on Wednesday. Widespread roadway and small stream flooding is likely in NorCal on Wednesday, and some smaller/faster responding rivers could potentially even briefly exceed flood stage. This storm will hold together pretty well as it moves across SoCal with widespread rain, heavy at times, on Thursday.
Storm #2, which will likely arrive on Sunday but may linger into Monday or even Tuesday, is still a little more uncertain but has a considerably higher ceiling in terms of rain (and wind) impacts–especially in Southern California. It’s too early to be entirely certain, but the odds are moderately high and increasing that some portion of the CA coast between San Diego and Monterey Bay will experience a very heavy rain event during this interval.
It is worth noting that two locations in Southern California–Ventura back in December and San Diego just last week–have already experienced record-breaking hourly to daily-scale precipitation and severe flash flooding. With this upcoming pattern in SoCal, there is the potential to break yet more precipitation records and perhaps even in a more widespread fashion–which is concerning partly because soils in parts of SoCal are still pretty saturated following recent downpours.
Read the full article here https://weatherwest.com/archives/35156
MARKET UPDATE:
We can expect prorates, gaps and quality issues due to the weather. Harvest crews will not be able to get out into the muddy fields to harvest. Cold and rain will also slow down production, tightening up volumes and prices will rise as supply decreases. This includes berries, citrus, arugula, sweet baby broccoli, leaf lettuces, green onions, radishes, salad greens and more.
Photo courtesy of Lakeside Organics
Prices will continue to stay high until the supply side stabilizes. Prices and availability are the most unstable often in December and January. One thing to remember is that most of the US is pulling produce from the same area that we do at this point in the season. Demand is great – supply isn’t.
Price and quality do not track side by side. Often higher prices reflect difficult growing conditions and veg has more cosmetic challenges than we are used to.
If you missed Earl’s previous weather-related blogs you can read them here.
https://www.earlsorganic.com/blog/supply-gaps-and-price-increases-due-to-weather
https://www.earlsorganic.com/blog/freezing-cold-weather-challenges
PRODUCT UPDATE:
Berries:. The overall state of all berries is unknown until after the storms pass. The rain could possibly affect blooms on future crops. Currently strawberries are very challenged out of all growing regions. Expect seasonally appropriate quality with white shoulders, minor bruising and short legs. We recommend buying tight and often. Homegrown Organic domestic blueberry production has picked on the central coast and weather dependent, we may see some pints. By mid-February we should see some more heat and sun with increased production from Forbidden.
Citrus: Citrus growers are picking and packing ahead of the storm. Rain will hit all growing regions from the central San Joaquin Valley down into San Diego growing regions. Crews won’t be able to get into the fields for the next week until the storm passes. Then they will need to wait another few days until the fruit dries out to pick because the flavor has been diluted and the moisture in the fruit can cause skin issues such as clear rot and breakdown that show up after harvest. We are already seeing some quality issues on Navels and Cara Cara’s from the previous rainstorms. We are keeping an eye on quality, however buyer’s should be aware that they may find a piece or two with quality issues. Expect to see disruptions in citrus availability next week.
Kumquats have been limited due to rain and getting into the fields after the rain. Look for more kumquats from RVO after the rain.
Arugula: Is very scarce and is susceptible to yellowing and mildew. As arugula gaps Organic Girl will be subbing in Mizuna for a few weeks, a delicious mild peppery leafy green, slightly less spicy than arugula.
Celery: Domestic celery growers are all experiencing blight, a fungus disease that occurs during cold and wet periods. It is characterized by small spots on the leaves and petiole (stem). The extended storms hitting California are only exacerbating the problem. Look to Mexican celery for good quality.
Greens: Heavy storms will make it potentially hard to load greens in the Watsonville/Salinas area. The growing regions in Brawley in the desert won’t be hit as hard by the rainy weather.
Green Onions: Continue to be prorated as wet muddy fields prevent workers from getting in the field to harvest.
Tutti Frutti English and Snap Peas: A frost took out the buds on what was in bloom. We will see a gap for the next few weeks.