Remember that dry stretch of weather back in April and May, when you said we needed rain?
Yeah, we can't either.
More than 4 inches of rain has fallen in Buffalo so far this June. That's more than what the area usually gets in the entire month.
The Buffalo area has piled up 12.49 inches of rain in April, May and through Thursday afternoon, compared with the average of 10.29 inches for the three months.
“June by far has been the wettest,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Jon Hitchcock said.
The rain caused the weather service to issue flood warnings Thursday afternoon for low-lying areas near Buffalo, Cayuga and Cazenovia creeks in and around Buffalo.
But, to quote Little Orphan Annie, the sun will come out tomorrow.
There's still a chance for a few showers this morning, then the clearing will begin in earnest this afternoon. Saturday will see sunshine with temperatures in the low to mid-70s.
That should help Western New Yorkers return to their lawns, strawberry patches and golf courses.
You know it's really raining when the golfers stay away from the course, and that was the case earlier this week.
Last Saturday, the Audubon Golf Course in Amherst was pretty busy despite the steady rain, but it has been so wet and slow this week that the course has closed early several days, including Thursday.
“It's certainly put a damper, pardon the pun, on golfing,” Mary-Diana Pouli, executive director of Amherst Youth and Recreation Department, said of the persistent rain.
Golf courses are having the same problems as homeowners in trying to cut the grass.
“We are having such a hard time keeping up with the cutting,” she said. “The grass is growing like wildfire.”
That's what it's like in every yard in the area, and there's nothing you can do but wait for the lawn to dry out a bit, according to landscapers.
“I have never seen yards this wet on June 13. Never,” said Harold Jauch, maintenance/sales manager for Greenview of Clarence. “With this much moisture, the water literally sucks the nutrients out of the soil, and the grass becomes hungry.”
Still, his customers are getting anxious and want their grass mowed.
“What am I going use, an air board? You can't even get back to get it with a weed-whacker,” he said, adding his crews are “dead in the water” until the grass dries out.
At Awald Farms on Gurney Avenue in North Collins, the owners of the U-Pick berry farm opened earlier than planned this week, because of an abundance of strawberries.
“Now we're hoping a lot of people come and pick them off before they get over-ripe,” Millie Awald said.
She said the Awald farm planted a later blooming variety, which has not been affected by the rain, and won't be, as long as the rain doesn't continue. If it's wet too long, the berries could lose some flavor – and not as many people would come out in the wet weather to pick them.
But she said things are looking up for blueberries because of the rain.
“It's good for them right now because they're putting on size,” she said.
In the Buffalo area, there's a chance of a passing shower Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, with temperatures gradually moving into the 80s early next week, Hitchcock said.
email: bobrien@buffnews.com
Yeah, we can't either.
More than 4 inches of rain has fallen in Buffalo so far this June. That's more than what the area usually gets in the entire month.
The Buffalo area has piled up 12.49 inches of rain in April, May and through Thursday afternoon, compared with the average of 10.29 inches for the three months.
“June by far has been the wettest,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Jon Hitchcock said.
The rain caused the weather service to issue flood warnings Thursday afternoon for low-lying areas near Buffalo, Cayuga and Cazenovia creeks in and around Buffalo.
But, to quote Little Orphan Annie, the sun will come out tomorrow.
There's still a chance for a few showers this morning, then the clearing will begin in earnest this afternoon. Saturday will see sunshine with temperatures in the low to mid-70s.
That should help Western New Yorkers return to their lawns, strawberry patches and golf courses.
You know it's really raining when the golfers stay away from the course, and that was the case earlier this week.
Last Saturday, the Audubon Golf Course in Amherst was pretty busy despite the steady rain, but it has been so wet and slow this week that the course has closed early several days, including Thursday.
“It's certainly put a damper, pardon the pun, on golfing,” Mary-Diana Pouli, executive director of Amherst Youth and Recreation Department, said of the persistent rain.
Golf courses are having the same problems as homeowners in trying to cut the grass.
“We are having such a hard time keeping up with the cutting,” she said. “The grass is growing like wildfire.”
That's what it's like in every yard in the area, and there's nothing you can do but wait for the lawn to dry out a bit, according to landscapers.
“I have never seen yards this wet on June 13. Never,” said Harold Jauch, maintenance/sales manager for Greenview of Clarence. “With this much moisture, the water literally sucks the nutrients out of the soil, and the grass becomes hungry.”
Still, his customers are getting anxious and want their grass mowed.
“What am I going use, an air board? You can't even get back to get it with a weed-whacker,” he said, adding his crews are “dead in the water” until the grass dries out.
At Awald Farms on Gurney Avenue in North Collins, the owners of the U-Pick berry farm opened earlier than planned this week, because of an abundance of strawberries.
“Now we're hoping a lot of people come and pick them off before they get over-ripe,” Millie Awald said.
She said the Awald farm planted a later blooming variety, which has not been affected by the rain, and won't be, as long as the rain doesn't continue. If it's wet too long, the berries could lose some flavor – and not as many people would come out in the wet weather to pick them.
But she said things are looking up for blueberries because of the rain.
“It's good for them right now because they're putting on size,” she said.
In the Buffalo area, there's a chance of a passing shower Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, with temperatures gradually moving into the 80s early next week, Hitchcock said.
email: bobrien@buffnews.com