Atmospheric rivers have brought prodigious amounts of rain and snow to California’s coast this winter. The rainfall has reduced drought levels significantly and refilled drastically shrunken reservoirs. Some farmers have been able to help recharge groundwater by flooding their fields with the excess runoff, which will help production later this year and in subsequent seasons. But the wind and rain has also caused the loss of almond blossoms this year, reducing potential yields. And prune and other stone fruit trees will be in bloom soon, and those blossoms are less able to withstand the windy and wet weather of an atmospheric river event, according to this story in Growing Produce. The farmers will be watching anxiously to see if more atmospheric rivers occur this year, threatening their fruit and other crops.
