Tropical rain to hit Northern and Central California

An area stretching from Northern California to the Central Valley is expected to see significant rainfall starting today and stretching into the weekend, due to an abundance of tropical moisture that has been funneled through the atmosphere from the central Pacific. Several inches of rain will fall, and while much of it will affect the Bay Area, as well as to the north and east, major growing regions such as Salinas, the San Joaquin Valley, Castroville, Watsonville, Stockton, and Santa Maria are also forecast to receive significant rainfall.

The crop expected to see the most significant impact will be strawberries. The original forecast from a few days ago was pointing to a disastrous rain event. However, the forecast has since become more favorable. "Watsonville/Salinas originally had a pretty significant storm forecast but the weather professionals have backed off that estimate and are now saying we might get up to two inches in parts of the region and maybe a few more showers next Tuesday," said Cindy Jewell of California Giant Berries. 

Jewell added that growers are in the preparation phase and production should be back on track in a short period of time. "At this point, growers are preparing ahead, fields have good drainage for any rain we do get, and they will be assessing their fields on Monday to determine what volume we will get next week as a result of the expected rain," she said. "Our field people are saying that despite this disruption, we should be back on track quickly and volume will increase each week significantly. So we look forward to finally getting this season off the ground and filling up the pipeline building demand for our berries across the country."

Santa Maria, also has had their forecast rainfall cut from over 2 inches to less than 1, which is expected to result in the strawberries maintaining their quality. "The volume in Santa Maria is ramping up, but they are expecting to get some of the rain forecast this weekend," Jewell said. "At this point it is looking like we will get maybe ¼ to ½ inch on Saturday. Our growers will be picking ahead of the expected showers on Friday and will be assessing fields on Monday for any damage and cleaning up, then will resume harvesting. Between next week and the middle of May, our volume should double in this region, helping to regain lost early numbers and get into peak season quickly. The quality and size of the fruit is excellent."

Strawberry growers have had an up and down season, with variable weather conditions providing challenges throughout the season. One week it seems to be very favorable, then the next growers are facing storms and rain. 

"The forecast rainfall for this event is improving compared to what it was a few days ago," said Vince Rosa of V&H Fresh, based in Monterey. "It had been looking like a complete disaster for strawberry growers, with earlier predictions for a significant loss of product, leading to a shortage of fruit for a couple of weeks. Now it does not look so bad. However, the affects have been worsened by the timing of these rain events. It seems just as the strawberry production peaks and the plants gain strength, a storm comes in at just the wrong time. By Monday, we should know what the effects will be of this rain over the weekend." 

Cindy Jewell is positive about the prospects for the remainder of the season and expects that the worst is now behind. "It has been a season full of stops and starts so far this year but we are now seeing light at the end of the tunnel and looking forward to really promoting our California strawberry crop," she said. The fruit looks and tastes great – we are excited for our consumers to finally start enjoying our California Giant spring berries."

Along with the rain, wind is also expected to accompany the rain event. According to Vince Rosa, this is going to impact leafy vegetables, such as romaine lettuce. "We are expecting 20 - 25mph winds to accompany the storms," Rosa said. "In such conditions, leafy vegetables lose their strength and become wilted. So we expect leafy green vegetable production to be affected, with supplies tight for a couple of weeks."

He added that growers in general are harvesting briskly this week, in order to have supplies to tide them over the next week or two. "Farmers have been busy cutting as much as they can this week," he said. "It's not so much to avoid damage, but rather to fill the cool rooms so they have supplies ready in case of any recovery period."

Rosa suggested that most vegetable growers will be okay, as their fields are designed to handle such downpours. "The rain itself won't affect most vegetables like celery and broccoli," he noted. "Farmers have excellent drainage built in that can handle an inch or two of rain. Of course, if we end up getting 3 - 4 inches, that might be a different story as fields would be sitting in water."

Should there be such a large amount of rain, or if warm weather directly follows, this could result in extended issues moving forward. "It's already April and a bit unusual to have such an amount of rain. If it becomes warm or hot while the fields are still saturated, this could lead to greater disease pressure moving forward. Products like broccoli and cauliflower, which are generally resistant to the rain itself, could be exposed to issues like pin rot. Another related issue would be an increased risk of insects and the associated problems they carry." 

Moving south towards Oxnard, the forecast is for negligible rainfall and growers say whatever does fall will complement the rain from earlier this month, which has benefited those in this area. Production on numerous crops here, including strawberries, avocados and lemons is expected to remain on track.

"Oxnard production is going very well and we don’t have any rain in the forecast there," Jewell said. "The volume is ramping up each week there with a peak to hit just before Mother’s Day. The fruit looks great with large size and full color."

Gary Clevenger of Freska Produce, said avocado growers are welcoming the rain, as it's providing adequate moisture for good growing conditions, without damaging the crop. "The rain has been a good thing as far as the effects for growers in the Oxnard area," he said. "It came at a time when the fruit needed some sizing. The bloom has begun for next season's fruit as well, so the rain was a good thing and not much of a disruption to the harvesting. The market was a little short for Easter but all in all I think came out fine and prices are strong."

Lemon growers in the southern part of the state are also enjoying the moderate rainfall in this region. "The news on the rain in coastal areas is that last week we got about ½ of what would be considered normal but the effect on the lemon crop in Coastal areas has been undramatic," said one lemon grower. "Fruit sizes are surprisingly good rather than small and grades are off a bit, but that is about it. The last series of storms were timely which promoted fruit growth and slowed maturity. The storm forecast for this weekend will only bring more good news for growers in this area."

For more information:

Cindy Jewell

Tel: +1 (831) 728-1773

Vince A. Rosa

Tel: +1 (209) 599-4340

Gary Clevenger

Tel: +1 (805) 650-1040