Hollister
– Despite the weekend’s scattered showers, this month will most
likely end as Hollister’s driest January ever.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday brought a total of only 0.07 inches
of rain, said Brian Tentinger of the National Weather Service in
Monterey.
Hollister – Despite the weekend’s scattered showers, this month will most likely end as Hollister’s driest January ever.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday brought a total of only 0.07 inches of rain, said Brian Tentinger of the National Weather Service in Monterey.
That brings this month’s total to 0.16 inches of rain for the month – still less than the 0.26 inches of rain that fell in January of 1976, Hollister’s driest January on record.
With only a 20 percent chance of light rain forecast for today and none in view for Wednesday, the last day of January, the 31-year-old record will most likely be broken, Tentinger said.
“We’re probably not going to get any rain for the later part of the week,” he said.
The lack of rain has caused problems for San Benito County farmers and ranchers, whose field crops and pastures are a little parched.
The weekend rain was welcomed by ranchers like Tom Tobias of Tres Pinos.
“It’s a welcome relief,” Tobias said. “It’s been a long time coming. We’d like to see a lot more.”
Grass growth typically slows during January, the coldest month of the year for San Benito, Tobias said.
But with an average of 2.68 inches of rain, January is also historically the wettest month of the year – and ranchers rely on the rains to fill the reservoirs used to water their cattle and to build the moisture content of the soil, he said.
“With warm weather hitting and more moisture in the soil, it’s a perfect combination for plant growth,” Tobias said.
And that growth allows ranchers to feed the approximately 40,000 head of cattle in San Benito on the cheap. Cattle generated more than $16 million for San Benito County ranchers in 2005, according to the county agricultural commission.
Without more rain and more growth of grass in their pastures, ranchers will be forced to supplement their cattle’s feed, he said.
San Benito ranchers may not be able to compete with the central valley’s dairy industry, which has put the cost of supplemental feed, such as grain hay, out of reach, Tobias said.
“If we don’t get a wet February and March we’re going to be in rough shape,” Tobias said.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or
mv*********@fr***********.com
.
