High winds, hail and rain swept through the valley and threatened tree fruit across the valley. Stressful conditions for Dennis Simonian. He owns 100 acres of cherries and nectarines.
His fruit trees are blooming right now. Extreme weather can scar the fruit, knock blooms off the branches and wipe out vineyards.
"I've seen hail storms come and shred it all down and all you see on the ground is nothing but leaves," he said.
The weekend storm hit his farm hard with short bursts of hail. But it wasn't enough to leave any visible damage. He took a closer look Monday morning just in case, "I was checking them, seeing if the flowers are all on...they're okay."
Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen said the hail could have scarred the fruit but the damage wouldn't be visible for a month.
He also said the hail was too small and soft to harm the fruit.
The storm also added to the snow pack in the mountains. Something farmers will rely on this summer for irrigation.
Jacobsen said, "We're still in a critically dry year, the water is going to be tough and short to come by but with this storm, it's going to help improve that situation.'
"We gotta have the rain so we have to able to weather the storm," Simonian said.
TXT 24
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