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.

RECORD RAINFALL IN CALIFORNIA ON SUNDAY

Not to belabor the point, but the excessively rainy and cold winter in California continued with record rainfall up and down the state this past Sunday. The SJ Valley, Stockton, Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield, etc.. all broke half-century old records. Total rainfall was anywhere from .5” to 1” depending on location. The total amount of rain for the season in Sacramento is now at 24”—40 percent above normal.

Along the coastal growing regions, Salinas also saw record amounts of rain for this date at .35”. Santa Maria also saw rain yesterday but only .2”, which, did not break the record, strangely enough.

These are not warm summer tropical rains one would expect for this time of year. These are winter storms out of Alaska, bringing cold temperatures and snow to the higher elevations. Sacramento's maximum temperature was only 57° on Sunday and Fresno's was only 67°. These regions should be in the 90°s right now, harvesting fruit for Memorial Day weekend, but they won’t even get into the 80°s until next Tuesday, May 28.

As of yesterday, when writing this article, there is another chance of rain for today, Thursday, and Saturday in the various growing regions of California.

Please check with shippers to see how production will be affected.

DESERT MELONS ALL ON COOLDOWN

Phoenix, Yuma, Imperial, and Palo Verde Valley are experiencing the effects of the storms coming through California. Although these regions won’t see any rain, they are experiencing cooler temperatures and high winds. These regions, which should all be in the mid 90°s right now, are experiencing maximum temperatures in the low to mid-70°s, with wind gusts up to 25 mph today and tomorrow. Temperatures won’t get back to normal until Friday. Coachella does have a 40 percent chance of rain tomorrow. I would think production will slow down this week due to the cold temperatures.

GEORGIA HEATWAVE WILL CONTINUE INTO NEXT WEEK

On Friday, we mentioned the heatwave coming to Georgia and northern Florida this weekend. Now, with more data available, we can see the high temperatures will continue well into next week and will peak on Tuesday, the 28th, with some locations getting as high as 102°. Look for increased production on all commodities coming from this part of the world.

MEXICO

Weather in the broccoli and lettuce regions of Mexico looks great now. In the states of Guanajuato and Aguascalientes, maximum temperatures over the next 10 days will be in the upper 80°s and mininums will be in the upper 50°s.

The San Quintín region of Baja California will experience cooler temperatures this week as part of the same storms hitting California. Maximum temperatures this week will be in the mid- to upper-60°s and minumums will be in the mid-50°s. There is about a 40 percent chance of light showers tomorrow.

In the La Laguna region of Torreon, Coahuilla, temperatures will be right around the century mark all this week, with overnight lows of around 70°. We should see good volumes of shade house veg begin to come from this region.

Citrus regions along the eastern coast of Mexico will experience a high temperature today of around 100° but will cool off during the week to a high of 90° on Saturday. The minimum temperatures will be in the mid-70°s all this week.

Thanks again, and we'll be back later this week with another weather report!

Weathermelon