Merced County farmers say it’s ‘crunch time’ for rain
%20AK%20Lake%20McClure%201.JPG "Lake McClure is hovering at 6 percent to 7 percent of its 1 million acre-foot capacity, according to a Merced Irrigation District official.<252><137>Mike Jensen, public and government relations officer for the Merced Irrigation District, said MID’s Lake McClure is nearly empty, hovering at 6 percent to 7 percent of its 1 million acre-foot capacity.<252>A section of dry lakebed at Lake McClure in Snelling, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015. According to Merced Irrigation District public and government relations officer Mike Jensen, Lake McClure is currently at about 6 to 7 percent of its 1-million acre-foot capacity. The lowest capacity since completed construction of the New Exchequer Dam in 1967, was recorded on Feb. 3, 2015. The reservoir measured 63,489 acre-feet.<252><137>")
The Merced area got more than an inch of rain last weekend, but don’t expect any more precipitation for at least a week.
Jim Andersen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford, said a ridge of high pressure moved into the area Tuesday, and it won’t rain for at least the next seven days.
Andersen said these high-pressure weather conditions are just about semi-permanent for the San Joaquin Valley. The high-pressure ridge sits off the California coast and diverts potential storms north or south of the Central Valley, either to Oregon and Washington or Southern California.
Bob Giampaoli of Le Grand, president of the Merced County Farm Bureau, said it’s getting to be “crunch time” for receiving normal amounts of rainfall in this area. He said he was grateful for the weekend rain, which will keep farmers from irrigating in the short term, but is worried about future prospects as the fourth year of drought continues to unfold.
“It’s looking pretty bleak for us right now,” Giampaoli said.
Andersen said some patchy localized fog can be expected around dawn, but widespread fog is not likely in the evening hours.
Since October, the Merced area has received 5.80 inches of rain; the normal amount for this period is 6.81 inches, Andersen said. Weekend rainfall totals for Merced included 0.31 inches Friday, 0.43 inches Saturday and 0.28 inches Sunday, with a trace Monday.
Mike Jensen, public and government relations officer for the Merced Irrigation District, said MID’s Lake McClure is nearly empty, hovering at 6 percent to 7 percent of its 1 million acre-foot capacity.
Jensen said last month was the driest January on record and followed three consecutive years of drought in California.
MID is continuing to do everything possible to keep local growers and others informed of the drought outlook. Information can be found at http://mercedid.org under the Drought Watch webpage, Jensen said.
Giampaoli said local farmers are looking back to the “Miracle March” of 1991, when late rainfall came to the rescue.
Sun-Star staff writer Doane Yawger can be reached at (209) 385-2407 or dyawger@mercedsunstar.com.
This story was originally published February 11, 2015 at 7:17 PM with the headline "Merced County farmers say it’s ‘crunch time’ for rain."