Heat and then Unseasonable Cold Coming to Magic Valley

Friday will feel like summer.  Highs may reach the mid-90s.  Then we cool down over the weekend, with a high around 70 and sunny skies on Sunday.  A bit warmer Monday, and then we expect some much-needed rain on Tuesday.  Followed by a big change.  Don’t get used to one day of heat.  Temperatures later next week will struggle to break the mid-60s.  At the moment, the forecast I’m reading shows no rain for the rest of the week after Tuesday, but experience teaches that long-range forecasts are guesses.

The Drought is Stubborn

The U.S. Drought Monitor still shows my part of Idaho in extreme or exceptional drought.  Nobody predicts any relief through the summer.  One bright spot is that the recent outbreak of wildfires has been well-contained, but we’re not even into summer, and the intense heat will keep baking the forests and sagebrush.

Then add on the powerful El Niño menacing the Pacific Ocean, which spells a dry and warmer winter coming up for Idaho.  By this time next year, without relief, we could be hearing about a spike in ranching and farming bankruptcies.  And it won’t help businesses associated with agriculture.  The scientists may call it folly, but most people in the Magic Valley still pray.  You’ll be seeing more prayer proclamations from local governments.  Hey, it doesn’t hurt.

El Niño translates as The Child

By the way, when I was a young pup, a managing editor nicknamed me El Niño.  I didn’t know the translation at the time, but I guess it was a comment on my age.  A long time ago.