Hurricane Hilary could threaten crops in the Central Valley

Hurricane Hilary is expected to hit parts of California’s San Joaquin Valley this weekend, bringing rare August downpours that may have a significant effect on the region’s crops. 

The Central Valley supplies 8% of the country’s agricultural output and 40% of its fruits and nuts – much of which is grown in the massive agricultural corridor between Bakersfield and Fresno, where Hurricane Hilary is quickly approaching. With several harvests coming up that rely on typically bone-dry conditions through August, the quality of a number of different crops could be at stake.

Grapes, almonds, spinach, tomatoes and other local crops are especially vulnerable, according to AgShared, an agricultural services company in Bakersfield.   

“Coming right when pistachio, almond and corn harvests are due, the economic impact to California farmers could be significant,” the company wrote in a Facebook post. 

The storm will hit the eastern Central Valley the hardest, said Antoinette Serrato, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Hanford office. 

“Some places are getting the amount of rain they see in a year in just a day, so that could really overwhelm and just kind of drown the plants,” Serrato told SFGATE. 

According to Serrato, the two biggest threats to crops brought on by the upcoming storm will likely be localized wind damage and an overabundance of rain. Though the heavy rainfall will be reminiscent of last winter’s atmospheric rivers that pummeled the region, Serrato said Hilary’s impact on the area will be different: There’s greater risk of flash flooding this weekend, instead of gradual but intense flooding that was concentrated primarily around creeks and rivers. 

These risks come right as many California farmers prepare for their August harvests, which rely on dry weather conditions, the Bakersfield Californian reported. This has the potential to not only flood out crop fields and orchards, but decrease the quality of the crops through impacts such as mold spores growing in the soil. 

“I told our investors this morning it’s like standing on the side of the road watching your dog about to be hit by a car and there’s nothing you can do,” Kevin Andrew, senior vice president at the Bakersfield-based agricultural management company Illume Agriculture told the Californian. 

The biggest impacts of the storm are expected to be seen in the Sierra, and in the mountains and deserts of Kern County, Serrato said.