Wet spring delays California crops, snow elsewhere in West

California growers are frustrated by an unusually wet spring that has delayed the planting of some crops like rice and damaged others including strawberries and wine grapes.

The state's wet conditions come as much of the West is experiencing weird weather. Colorado and Wyoming got an unusually late dump of snow this week. Meanwhile temperatures in Phoenix have dropped 15 degrees below normal.

Large swaths of California have seen two to five times more precipitation than is normal for this point in May, the National Weather Service said. A series of storms soaked much of Colusa County where rice grower Kurt Richter was forced to wait weeks to seed his land.

In this photo taken Monday, May 20, 2019, A field worker throws rain-ruined strawberries onto the ground in Watsonville, Calif. Field workers throughout the Pajaro Valley are picking ripe berries and throwing them on the ground since they become moldy with the rains. Winter is long past but wet weather continues to roll through California, and it's beginning to become a problem for crops ranging from wine grapes to strawberries. (Dan CoyroSanta Cruz Sentinel via AP)

"You should be seeing green lawns of rice out there right now," Richter said Tuesday from his farm about 120 miles (195 kilometers) north of San Francisco. "But it's just flooded fields, with nothing sticking out of the water."

Rice he managed to get into the ground during brief dry spells is in a "refrigerated state" because of colder than usual temperatures that threaten to reduce yields, he said. Richter's property typically grows about 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) of rice annually, but he predicted "we won't even get close to that this year."

In a 24-hour period last weekend, parts of Sacramento County in the northern part of the state recorded more than 3.25 inches (8.25 centimeters) of rain. The wet trend will continue through the month, forecasters said.

In this photo taken Monday, May 20, 2019, rain-ruined strawberries lay on the ground in a field in Watsonville, Calif. Field workers throughout the Pajaro Valley are picking ripe berries and throwing them on the ground since they become moldy with the rains. Winter is long past but wet weather continues to roll through California, and it's beginning to become a problem for crops ranging from wine grapes to strawberries. (Dan CoyroSanta Cruz Sentinel via AP)

Strawberry grower Peter Navarro said it's been at least a decade since heavy rains have affected his Santa Cruz County fields like this year.

"The month of May produces some of your best berries," said Navarro, grower for Well-Pict Berries in Watsonville. But he told the Santa Cruz Sentinel that ongoing wet weather was disrupting the picking schedule and causing a loss of production.

Too much rain can damage strawberries' delicate skin, causing the fruit to decay before being picked. Berries that start to rot on the vine can affect green fruit and bring disease to the plant, Navarro said.

Deer roam the foothills of Ken Caryl Valley near Littleton, Colo., after a late spring storm blanketed the area with snow, seen Tuesday morning, May 21, 2019. Colorado and Wyoming got an unusually late dump of snow this week. Large swaths of California have seen two to five times more precipitation than is normal for this point in May, the National Weather Service said. (Adriana Wiersma via AP)

To the south in wine country, May showers and accompanying winds have damaged some vines and brought unwelcome moisture that could delay blooming. On top of that growers worry lingering humid conditions will cause mold and mildew on vines that could take an even greater toll.

The result could be a smaller yield for certain varieties including chardonnay and pinot noir grapes, vintners said.

"It's not ideal," Alison Crowe, director of winemaking at Plata Wine Partners in Napa, told the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat . "It's not necessarily impacted quality. It will impact the quantity."

In this photo provided by Adriana Wiersma, a bicyclist rides a trail in the snow-covered Ken Caryl Valley near Littleton, Colo., after a late spring storm blanketed the area with snow, seen Tuesday morning, May 21, 2019. Much of the West is experiencing weird weather. Colorado and Wyoming got an unusually late dump of snow this week. In California, growers are frustrated by an unusually wet spring that has delayed the planting of some crops like rice and damaged others including strawberries and wine grapes. (Adriana Wiersma via AP)

Meanwhile, a late spring storm dumped heavy, wet snow in Colorado and Wyoming, cancelling flights and snapping newly greened up tree limbs.

Lines were long at Denver International Airport Tuesday morning with travelers from earlier canceled flights hoping to fly out. The airport got 3.4 inches (8.6 centimeters) of snow but some areas near Colorado Springs got a foot (0.3 meters) or more. May snowfall is fairly common but usually not this late.

In western Colorado, a rock slide closed Interstate 70. The area is prone to slides especially following wet weather and temperature fluctuations.

In this photo provided by Adriana Wiersma, deer roam the foothills of Ken Caryl Valley near Littleton, Colo., after a late spring storm blanketed the area with snow, seen Tuesday morning, May 21, 2019. Much of the West is experiencing weird weather. Colorado and Wyoming got an unusually late dump of snow this week. (Adriana Wiersma via AP)

Up to 9 inches (22.8 centimeters) of snow was reported in the Cheyenne, Wyoming area.

In Arizona, where 100 degree (37.75 Celsius) temperatures are not uncommon in May, some areas in the northern part of the state saw snow this week. It was a moderate 81 degrees (27 Celsius) by mid-afternoon Tuesday in Phoenix.

NEW DELHI (AP) — The hugely popular Chinese app TikTok may be forced out of the U.S., where a measure to outlaw the video-sharing app has won congressional approval and is on its way to President Biden for his signature.

In India, the app was banned nearly four years ago. Here's what happened:

In June 2020, TikTok users in India bid goodbye to the app, which is operated by Chinese internet firm ByteDance. New Delhi had suddenly banned the popular app, alongside dozens other Chinese apps, following a military clash along the India-China border. Twenty Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed, and ties between the two Asian giants plunged to a new low.

The government cited privacy concerns and said that Chinese apps pose a threat to India’s sovereignty and security.

The move mostly drew widespread support in India, where protesters had been calling for a boycott of Chinese goods since the deadly confrontation in the remote Karakoram mountain border region.

“There was a clamour leading up to this, and the popular narrative was how can we allow Chinese companies to do business in India when we’re in the middle of a military standoff,” said Nikhil Pahwa, a digital policy expert and founder of tech website MediaNama.

Just months before the ban, India had also restricted investment from Chinese companies, Pahwa added. “TikTok wasn’t a one-off case. Today, India has banned over 500 Chinese apps to date.”

At the time, India had about 200 million TikTok users, the most outside of China. And the company also employed thousands of Indians.

TikTok users and content creators, however, needed a place to go — and the ban provided a multi-billion dollar opportunity to snatch up a big market. Within months, Google rolled out YouTube Shorts and Instagram pushed out its Reels feature. Both mimicked the short-form video creation that TikTok had excelled at.

“And they ended up capturing most of the market that TikTok had vacated,” said Pahwa.

In India, TikTok content was hyperlocal, which made it quite unique. It opened a window into the lives of small-town India, with videos coming from tier 2 and 3 cities that showed people doing tricks while laying down bricks, for example.

But for the most part, content creators and users in the four years since the ban have moved on to other platforms.

Winnie Sangma misses posting videos on TikTok and earning a bit of money. But after the ban, he migrated to Instagram and now has 15,000 followers. The process, for the most part, has been relatively painless.

“I have built up followers on Instagram too, and I am making money from it, but the experience isn’t like how it used to be on TikTok,” he said.

Rajib Dutta, a frequent scroller on TikTok, also switched to Instagram after the ban. “It wasn’t really a big deal,” he said.

The legislation to outlaw the app has won congressional approval and now awaits a signature from Biden.

The measure gives ByteDance, the app’s parent company, nine months to sell it, and three more if a sale is underway. If this doesn’t happen, TikTok will be banned. It would take at least a year before a ban goes into effect, but with likely court challenges, it could stretch longer.

In India, the ban in 2020 was swift. TikTok and other companies were given time to respond to questions on privacy and security, and by January 2021, it became a permanent ban.

But the situation in the U.S. is different, said Pahwa. “In India, TikTok decided not to go to court, but the U.S. is a bigger revenue market for them. Also, the First Amendment in America is fairly strong, so it’s not going to be as easy for the U.S. to do this as it was for India,” he said, in reference to free speech rights in the U.S. Constitution.

As Chinese apps proliferate across the world, Pahwa says countries need to assess their dependency on China and develop a way to reduce it as the apps can pose a national security risk.

The app is also banned in Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan and restricted in many countries in Europe.

“Chinese intelligence law and its cybersecurity law can allow Chinese apps to work in the interest of their own security. That creates a situation of distrust and it becomes a national security risk for others,” said Pahwa.

“There should be different rules for democratic countries and for authoritarian regimes where companies can act as an extension of the state,” he added.

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This story corrects the expert's erroneous reference to Fourth instead of First Amendment.

FILE- Activists of Jammu and Kashmir Dogra Front shout slogans against Chinese President Xi Jinping next to a banner showing the logos of TikTok and other Chinese apps banned in India during a protest in Jammu, India, July 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Channi Anand, File)