🌱 US Weather Warriors GrowCast — 2026-05-21
Soaking rain, gusty winds, and thunderstorm chances put most field and garden work on hold today.
Today's Weather Snapshot: Highs 64-72°F across Delmarva, lows in the mid-50s. Widespread rain likely, PoPs running 80-90% with WPC flagging heavy/excessive rainfall potential. Winds 10-24 mph, strongest near the coast and lower Bay. Humidity high, with thunderstorms possible as a front approaches.
Soil & Recent Rainfall: DEOS 2-inch soil temps run 67.7-74.4°F, averaging 71.3°F — solidly in warm-season range. Up to 0.45 inches fell in the last 24 hours at DAGF, with that site showing wet topsoil.
Best Outdoor Work Window: Skip today. Drier, lighter-wind conditions later this week look like the next workable stretch — plan for Friday afternoon or Saturday once the front clears.
Planting & Transplanting: Soil is plenty warm for tomatoes, peppers, squash, and cukes (well above the 60-65°F threshold), but the rule today is Delay — hold tender transplants until the rain and wind trend improves. Saturated ground and 20+ mph gusts will beat up new plantings and invite root rot.
Watering & Irrigation: Hold off on irrigation. With 80-90% PoPs and a heavy-rain signal, soils will be at or near field capacity by tonight. No irrigation needed through at least Friday.
For Gardeners: Use today for indoor seed starting, tool sharpening, and staging trays of warm-season transplants for later this week. If bedding flowers are already in, check stakes and mulch before the wind peaks. Hold off mowing — wet turf will rut and clump.
For Farmers & Growers: Field access is poor; expect ruts on any tillage or spray pass, and spray windows are closed with gusts to 24 mph and storms in the forecast. Push planting and herbicide passes to the back half of the week. Hay down right now is a loss — do not cut into this pattern.
Looking Ahead (6-10 day signal): CPC 6-10 and 8-14 day both lean above-normal temps and above-normal precip; no drought across DE/MD/VA.
Bottom Line: A wet, windy, storm-threat day — stand down on fieldwork and planting, and let the soil drain before pushing back in.
— US Weather Warriors #DelmarvaWeather #GardenWeather #FarmWeather