By MARK KANE
ngedit@gnnewspaper.com
It does not take a meteorologist to notice that Niagara Falls has missed out on the rain that has fallen around Toronto and south of Buffalo.
The shades of brown grass, usually signs of the warm days of mid-August, have come out in full force as July begins.
Niagara County has seen little rain because of the of the temperature stabilization of Lake Erie, according to Joseph Pace, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
“The cooler waters of Lake Erie create a good southwesterly breeze off of the lake,” Pace said. “The breeze creates a shadow that prevents cloud coverage to the north of Buffalo.”
The shadow effect from Lake Erie created the sunniest month of May in the 117 years of record keeping in Buffalo with 84 percent of the daytime sunny, according to Pace. However, the sunny weather has taken away from rainfall.
The next threat of showers could come Tuesday or Wednesday. However, above average amounts of precipitation are expected the second week of July, according to Pace.
Since 1951, Niagara Falls International Airport has averaged 7.2 inches of rainfall in May and 8.4 inches of rain in June, according to the Base Weather Station for the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.
This past May fell well short of that with 0.84 inch of rain, and June only saw 1.7 inches as of Friday night, the Air Force base said.
Local nurseries have been impacted but expect things to get worse as the summer progresses.
“We’re about average in terms of sales,” said Melissa Skorik, owner of Faery’s Nursery & Landscaping in Ransomville. “But if it stays this dry, sales will drop dramatically.”
The lack of rain has also had an impact on gardeners. Customers have been coming in more frequently wondering why their plants are dying, according to Skorik.
The dry weather has forced the ground to harden which makes the task of digging more difficult. Because of hard grounds, people are starting to irrigate before they make purchases, according to Skorik, who was forced to hire more staff to take care of her inventory.
“I need more staff to water the inventory so customers can purchase healthy plants,” she said.
Farmers in the area have also seen an impact from the dry spell. Corn, a crop that requires a lot of water, has been a concern since the dry weather began.
“We’re still going to have a corn crop this summer because of our irrigation system,” said Jeff Freatman, manager of Freatman Farms, which farms sweet corn in Lockport. “But the irrigation of our corn has prevented us from doing other work like planting and harvesting other crops.”
Freatman said that the farm’s irrigation system is lined up to help out during dry years. However, the process that usually starts in July was started in May this year.
“This is the earliest we’ve had to start irrigation,” he said.
Farmers of other crops, such as tomatoes and peaches, are far from being bothered by the dry weather.
“Years that are dry are usually vintage years because of quality of the product is so much better,” said Tom Tower of Tower’s Farm Market in Youngstown. “I have one of the nicest tomato fields I’ve ever seen this summer.”
Tower, whose main crops are tomatoes and peaches, said the dry spell has helped him because it means more sunlight for the crops, which is crucial for growing.
“We can adjust the way the crops are watered,” he said. “But we can’t control the amount of sunlight the crops receive.”
Local News
WEATHER: Niagara region starts summer dry
- Local News
-
-
Snow won't last
The climate trend that’s emerged this winter — brief spells of cold and minimal snow cover, broken up quickly by warmth and rain — apparently will hold into spring.
-
Mild winter helps cut costs
The mild, warm, snowless streak of weather that snapped this past weekend allowed highway departments to tackle unseasonable projects early and avoid the high costs of snow plowing.
-
Sweetheart deals for local businesses
Local retailers will have a lot to celebrate this Valentine’s Day, but the joy will be mixed with exhaustion on what promises to be a busy day of deliveries and panicked last-minute purchases.
-
Lake levels cause concern
Land owners along Lake Ontario are concerned about a potential International Joint Commission plan which may allow water levels to reach higher highs and lower lows.
-
Tigers trio win sectional titles
Making a successful title defense, Lyndonville’s Sam Recco led a contingent of three Tigers to capture Section V Division II (small schools) crowns Saturday night at R.I.T earning trips to the upcoming state championships.
-
Hospice residence construction continues
The construction of the new Martin-Linsin Hospice Residence, which is now well under way just behind the Hospice of Orleans office building on Route 31 in Albion, will allow Hospice to provide care and assistance for those patients and their families.
-
Library construction, fundraising hit milestones
The project to build a new library in Albion is seeing a lot of green — both in the foam insulation that is being added at the South Main Street construction site and in Swan Library’s fundraising effort.
-
Albion plans for summer
Village officials heard details about this summer’s Albion Strawberry Festival and another big event that could bring visitors back to the village later in the summer — if concerns about street usage are cleared up — during Wednesday’s board meeting.
-
Theater impact grant formally announced
The National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks, has awarded the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor a 2012 Impact Grant to support the launch of the Theatre on Main Street project in Albion in collaboration with the Albion Main Street Alliance and the Western Erie Canal Alliance.
-
Inter-county collaboration
The Orleans County Legislature finalized a formal alliance with their Niagara County counterparts Wed-nesday, a move leaders from both counties said will lead to reduced costs and increased services.
- More Local News Headlines
-







