Thomas G. Chastain

The Willamette Valley has experienced very dry late summer and early fall conditions to date and long-range projections are for more of the same coming in the middle and late parts of fall.  How dry has it been?  Rainfall for the July through September period has been 0.87 inches at Hyslop Farm or 37% of the normal 2.35 inches for the period.  Only 10 years in the past 123 years have been this dry or drier in the Willamette Valley.   In these dry years, rainfall in October has averaged 2.11 inches or 66% of normal.  When it gets this dry in July through September, dry Octobers typically follow.  Thus, no relief from the dry conditions in the near term can be expected given either the forecasts or the historical records observed in past drought periods. Continue reading →