IRVINE, CA - Good morning, AndNowUKnow readers!

Today, I am bringing you some of the category and weather news from around the industry. Check back twice weekly to see where the rain is falling, the sun is shining, and everything in between.

STRAWBERRIES

Don’t expect any strawberries out of CA for Valentine’s Day.

The rain began in earnest yesterday in coastal CA and expect things to only get worse throughout the weekend. Strawberries and other items out of Oxnard, Santa Maria, and Irvine to be greatly affected.

Yesterday’s storm was actually bigger than originally anticipated. Oxnard was predicted to only receive up to .25” and ended up getting about 1.15”. Santa Maria was predicted to only see .25” and received over an inch. This data comes from the NWS.

Saturday is lining up to be the biggest storm of the weekend with rain totals expected to be over 2” in Oxnard and 3” in Santa Maria. The Coachella Valley will see a little over .5” on Saturday. Ensenada, Baja CA will see over an inch of rain on Saturday. Strawberry harvest and quality will definitely be affected.

Look to central Mexico for good quality and supplies of Strawberries over the next weeks as the weather in the regions of Michoacán and Guanajuato remains stable. These regions will see max temps in the upper 70°s and lows in the 40°s and zero chance of rain. Florida will also see more stable weather over the next 10 days and should see a better supply of product.

After this weekend deluge in CA things will dry out once again and there is no more storms anticipated in the 10 day forecast. We will update you again next Tuesday.

CITRUS

Orange harvests in the San Joaquin Valley may also be affected by the rains in CA. According to Tony Taviano from B & B Imports in Visalia, CA the citrus growing regions along the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains just east of Visalia are expected to receive between 2-4 inches of rain over the weekend with some isolated areas getting up to 5”. Please check with your shippers on Monday about final rain numbers and how will affect citrus harvests.

Tony mentioned this rain on the valley floor of the SJV and snow in the Sierra Nevadas is very welcome for spring crops and water supplies for summer productions. The nitrogen and micronutrients associated with the rain are an immediate benefit for citrus growers due to absorption through the leaves and also for all permanent tree crops as the nutrients in the soil will help with upcoming flower bud growth.

FLORIDA

Florida weather appears to very stable over the next ten days. There is still a chance of some isolated showers throughout the main growing regions of southern Florida the next two days but by Sunday skies will clear and will see great weather all next week. Temperatures will also normalize with max temps in the low 80°s and min temps in the low 60°s.

CHILEAN HEAT WAVE

Starting Saturday many major blueberry growing regions of Chile are expecting a mid-Summer heat wave that will last through next Tuesday. We are talking about max temps above the 100° mark for 4 continuous days. These temps are 15° to 20° above normal for these areas. Not quite sure when we would see the effects of this in the U.S. market but if you handle the blueberry category it is definitely something to look into with your supplier.

Thank you again for your support and we will back next Tuesday with another update.

Weathermelon