APRIL UNSEASONABLY DRY, SO FAR...
The driest start to April in 30 years?? YIKES! As can be seen in the dry spot pictures above, and the weather chart below, we have been in need of irrigation for over a week. Tough call this year as some clients are working to hold costs down and have opted to allow lawns to dry out with the hope of rain returning. Looks like a good chance for rain on Wednesday.
Now this year may have been driest start to April in 25 years, but it is quite common to have dry stretches in the spring followed by more “normal Oregon rainy weather" in May and June. As can be seen in the chart below, last year we had a 2-3 week dry spell in May followed by a mostly rainy May and June. In 2018, it was mostly rainy in April with an extended dry stretch through all of May.
The long range forecast is for warm and dry weather so this could be a challenging spring with difficult choices to make on whether to keep irrigation off to save money or keep lawns green with water costs exceeding averages.
We will keep in contact with you to discuss the weather and your desire to opt in or opt out of irrigation during the coming spring month. Tough call on how much rain we will get and if irrigation is needed. The frustrating part is most lawns with good soil below and away from tree roots are fine now. This is why we are promoting Smartlink Weather Based Irrigation, to manage irrigation control along with Water Conservation Plans , and Lawn Conversion , to modify irrigation systems and landscapes in order to avoid needing to water when just a small portion of a landscape needs water during the transitional months.