Despite last weekend’s snow arrival, winter has not brought much rain this season and that could affect our wildflower output come spring. Reporter Heather Clisby has details…
The long-awaited arrival of rain and snow in the Morongo Basin brought some relief to fans of the spring wildflower display but the celebration might be premature.
Neil Frakes, the vegetation manager at Joshua Tree National Park, notes that the weather has been too dry since last spring and that does not bode well for flower fans. To get anywhere near “superbloom” status, we need more heavy storms over the next few months. Frakes stated that, generally, an early rain season is best for a big bloom and we are too late for that.
Furthermore, the recent rain and snow will certainly “green up” non-native grasses and invasive mustards once the weather warms, which is not ideal for native plants and for fire season.
Residents can track weather data from three stations in JTNP.
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/air/current-data.htm?site=jotr&location=black-rock
