It’s been a while since I’ve been able to say it, but it looks like we are going into a reasonable wet pattern for a while. The Thursday morning commute could be a soggy one as a low pressure system moves onshore, combining with a plume of moisture (including some from an old tropical storm) to give us a better than even chance of rain. With the amount of moisture overhead, it’s possible some areas will get a substantial amount of rain. Temperatures will plunge into the 60s Thursday before things clear out and warm back to the 70s on Friday and Saturday. Another cold low pressure center will drop out of the north late in the weekend, dropping temperatures and possibly some more rain Sunday.

Even if we didn’t have this forecast, this is still a good time to talk about cutting back on watering. Heidi Kratsch at the UNR Cooperative Extension suggests cutting back now to twice a week watering (instead of three), while still making sure the water penetrates 6 inches into the soil. By November, you should be able to shut it off altogether to allow your grass to go dormant. I’ll have more on this tomorrow.