Rain! We finally got rain... and hail. While the rest of the country was pretty much snowed in and frozen over, the American southwest has had an unusually warm, dry winter. While this is cause for happiness in suburbia, it’s reason for farmers to become concerned.
Last year’s drought was a nightmare. 2013 was a bad year for Arizona’s natural disaster crews. First, the drought dried everything out. Then lightening set everything on fire. And then the monsoons rolled in and flooded everything. All the burned areas and dead tundra became churning rivers of debris.
There was a lot of damage done last year, and only a hard, cold winter could make it right. But, we never got that winter. In fact, it was like winter never came. We saw a few freezes, and few light snows, but nothing remarkable. And they were broken up by exceptionally warm spells that tricked the trees and perennials into waking up just long enough to think it was safe. Then another 'cold snap’ would hit and make everything sick.
But now, we have rain and hail in the middle of Spring. This is a good thing. We desperately need the precipitation. As long as the hail doesn’t become dangerous (or snow) we’re good to go. A nice 3-day storm is just what we need to get everything kick-started on the farm and surrounding wild acreage.
A good greening will help the world from catching on fire again this year and hold the soil together when the much heavier monsoons do come in mid-late summer.
So, here’s to the rain and the hail. May it stick around for a few days and make our world brighter.
