sponsored by
06/30/2009
enlarge
Staff photo by Andy Molloyfrom the Kennebec Journal
BUDGET CUTS ORDERED
Many happy returns in Richmond
Tax woes land on Whitefield
Rapist denied new trial
AUGUSTA MINDING A MINE
SPORT OF KINGS Falconry a blend of dedication and commitment
COLLEGE HOCKEY: Maine rallies but falls short against Boston College
COLLEGE ROUNDUP: Colby women win season opener at home tournament
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Kennebec Journal
from the Morning Sentinel
WEDDING BURGLAR JAILED
Youths talk Turkey Day
Plenty of free Thanksgiving meals available
Turkey prices make for happier holiday
Kennebec County Superior Court
POLICE
COLLEGE HOCKEY: Maine rallies but falls short against Boston College
COLLEGE ROUNDUP: Colby women win season opener at home tournament
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Morning Sentinel
Staff Writer
With 8.36 inches of rain, June is the fifth-wettest month ever recorded in Maine, according to the National Weather Service.
The commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture said the state is on the verge of some major problems for farmers if the sun doesn't shine soon.
James Brown, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, said all it would take is a thunderstorm today to push the state past the fourth-place reading of 9.01 inches, recorded in 1998.
"It's certainly possible if we get a thunderstorm, it could easily push it over or even jump up to the number one position," Brown said Monday. "That was 10.86 inches in 1917. It would only take 1.50 inches to get there."
Brown could not say with confidence that the weather would begin to dry out in time for the Fourth of July.
He said computer models used to provide weather predictions are not as successful with extended forecasts when there is a "closed" low-pressure system. He said the weather system over Maine is completely encircled by a line of equal pressure, which travels very slowly.
"Models have a lot of trouble with closed systems. There's a lot less accuracy until you get within 48 hours of it," he said.
Maine also has wind coming in off the ocean, and that brings in all kinds of moisture and sometimes fog and drizzle, he said.
The weather service issued a flood warning on Monday for the Kennebec River in Skowhegan. A flood warning also was issued for Ellis River in Oxford County. The weather service also said Monday that heavy rains would result in flooding of streets in low-lying areas of Oxford and Franklin counties.
Forecasters say small rivers, such as the Sandy River at Madrid and the Wild River at Gilead, may also go over their banks.
More wet weather is expected across most of Maine for the next several days.
Seth Bradstreet, the state agriculture commissioner, said Monday farmers have lost the month of June that typically is a good time for crops to grow because the days are longer.
"We've got quite a discouraged group of farmers here right now," Bradstreet said. "The first 14 or 15 days, we thought it was a typical spell. Now, we're going 26 of the last 29 days with some sort of measurable rainfall, so it's gotten to a point of frustration."
He said the strawberry crop isn't too bad, but you-pick operations are having a difficult time getting people into the fields.
The dairy industry is struggling the most because there was no dry hay cut in June.
Ken Black, who works on his uncle's cattle farm in Litchfield, said they have enough old hay to feed the cows for a little while longer. The new hay is now mulch.
"We haven't been able to get to it, because it has to be dry before we can bale it," Black said. "It didn't get dry enough before the rain came, so we just use it for bedding now or lawns, or whatever people need it for."
"My uncle commented this morning that it's been quite a while since we had this much rain in June, and he's been at it for 50-some-odd years," he said.
Jim Dwyer, University of Maine Cooperative Extension potato specialist, said there is also the threat of early blight. The long stretch of cool, cloudy and rainy weather this June has provided classic conditions for spores of fungus to disperse.
"We are urging home gardeners, especially those who may have recently planted tomato seedlings from a big-box store, to check for this disease," Dwyer said. "The symptoms include irregular-shaped, water-soaked, greasy gray spots surrounded by white mold, which eventually turn into blackened areas on the stems and leaves. These blackened areas dry up, wilt and die."
The disease was also discovered in tomato seedlings stocked in the garden centers of large retailers in Maine.
The ground is so wet, Bradstreet said, potato farmers are having a difficult time getting into the fields to cover their crops with fungicide.
"The lawn-care business is booming, but the agriculture side, we're really struggling here," Bradstreet said. "We're on the verge of having some great losses if this weather continues. Somebody told me the other day offerings in Sunday church are high because farmers are in there praying for sunshine."
"Hopefully, we'll get some relief here this week."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811,
ext. 408
mcooper@centralmaine.com
Reader comments
Click here to view or add reader comments