Woes of wet week

Benefits, berries and ballfields among the soggy

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

Weather experts are predicting that the summer of 2009 will likely begin with more than a week of rain, which could pose serious problems for outdoor seasonal events and headaches for some local farmers — and a chance of localized flooding.

The National Weather Service’s Web site is predicting either rain showers or rolling thunderstorms across the Pioneer Valley into next week and possibly next weekend.

According to News 22 Storm Team meteorologist, Adam Strzempko, the sustained rain is a result of a cyclical weather pattern over parts of New England that will continually generate moisture over the next week.

“The problem is that we are stuck in this weather pattern; the jet stream to our south is funneling the rain right over us and that is why it has been cooler than usual,” Strzempko said Thursday night. “It is like having train tracks that are just sending these storms our way.”

While the sight of only rain clouds on many seven-day forecasts may look grim, Strzempko said he expects to see a break in the weather sometime in the middle of next week.

“By next week, hopefully around Wednesday or Thursday, we will see this pattern change and some drier weather come our way. Right now I’m thinking that will take place in the middle of next week.”

Another of the station’s meteorologists, Brian Lapis, said Friday that although a flood watch will be in effect for parts of Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties through Sunday, residents shouldn’t worry about the region’s larger rivers.

“We’ve had a lot of rain recently and there is the potential for more heavy rain here over the weekend, and that could create some urban street flooding and the swelling of smaller streams,” Lapis said. “It is tough to get the Connecticut River to flood this time of year — it typically floods in the spring if there is a lot of snow melting.”

Outdoor activities

The organizers of two outdoor events planned for this weekend, the Relay for Life in Florence and the Taste of Amherst on the town’s common, are prepared to go forward as scheduled, regardless of what Mother Nature has in store.

At the relay, the more than 1,500 participants are expected to walk around the track at Look Park rain or shine, many of whom spent last night sleeping through the rain in tents.
“Cancer doesn’t stop for rain, cancer doesn’t stop for sleep, so we won’t either,” said Thomas McCusker, one of the relay’s tri-county chairs. “It is the cause that drives us. Unless a tornado touches down or we have thunder and lightning and it seems too dangerous, people will be out on the track.”

The 21 restaurants participating in 18th annual Taste of Amherst were setting up their booths and preparing to dish out food Friday night, despite ominous clouds gathering in the sky above. The Thursday session was canceled.

Tony Maroulis, the executive director of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, couldn’t remember a year when the event was held during a weekend of nonstop rain but said if that happens this year, local restaurateurs are prepared to work through it.

“There really is nothing you can do with an event like this, where we have to reserve space on the common a year in advance,” Maroulis said. “But we will be out here this weekend rain or shine.”

Farmers anxious

Too much rain this early in the season can also be a problem for local farmers, particularly those who offer strawberries, a fruit that is especially susceptible to excessive rainfall.
Joe Czajkowski, owner of Lakeside Farm in South Deerfield, said the rain may not be the best thing for his pick-your-own strawberry patch but because it is early enough in the season, there will be plenty of the fruit left to ripen later in the summer.

“We have had a really good run up to now, and this rain isn’t helpful,” Czajkowski said. “All we can really do is make sure than any time it stops raining we are out there picking. We are going to be OK, and customers should know that once we get through these next few days, there will be a lot of strawberries for them to enjoy.”

While prolonged rainy weather can be rough for strawberry farmers, it can spell disaster for other crops as well, said Tim Wilcox, owner of the Kitchen Garden farm in Sunderland.

“Having this much rain any time you have crops on the ground is not good. The first rain we had during this stretch we really needed but after you get an inch of water on the ground if you add another, that starts to be too much,” Wilcox said. “One of the old adages is that you can water down but you can’t take it away, and because of that in some ways a drought is preferable over this.”

Wilcox said that if the roots of crops like squash, melons and cucumbers get saturated for more than a few days they will frequently die, and there is little that farmers can do to prevent it.

“All you can really do is hope for the sun to shine. There are certain kinds of tilling that will allow the soil to do better, but when it’s this wet people can’t get their tractors out on the fields,” Wilcox said.

Youth sports jammed up

The early summer stretch of rainstorms could also result in a scheduling nightmare for organizers of local Little Leagues, where rained-out games and flooded fields may force teams to play a series of double-headers or even shortened games.

“The regular season was pretty good, we only lost one or two games to weather,” said Andy Grimaldi, president of the Northampton Little League. “I know the kids are really disappointed about all the rain, but we are working closely with the recreation departments and there are a couple of scenarios we are looking at if we miss some games.”

In addition to the dilemma of trying to finish the playoffs and crown city champions before the region’s two tournament teams begin their season in the end of June, Grimaldi said if the rain continues, he could lose many of the league’s players to family vacations after the school year ends on Tuesday.

The hope, he said, is to get in a couple of games this weekend, if the league is lucky enough to get a break in the weather.

“The city is giving us an expanded schedule, and unless we get a lot of heavy rain for the next couple of days, I think we should be OK,” Grimaldi said.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com