"Any kind of rain during a duration of time will stain this lent," said farm owner Sam Carreiro. Carreiro's 1,400 acres of cotton fields are in danger because of the looming storm.
"Hopefully it's not a driving wind force, down force winds that blow this cotton off the stock," said Carreiro.
Once that cotton is on the ground, it is of no value to Carreiro and he loses money. The rain can also discolor the white cotton. That's why Carreiro is working hard to get as much cotton picked before the rain comes.
"We'll probably go till late this evening, 9 o'clock, push it as hard as we can, get some cotton before the rain," said Carreiro.
And Carreiro and his crew aren't the only people working overtime today. Hundreds of other growers have been busy due to a late start this harvest season.
"What really concerns us in this particular storm is just the amount of rain that's being projected right now," said Ryan Jacobsen with the Fresno County Farm Bureau. "Anywhere between a half and a full inch just here in Fresno County and that's pretty significant when it comes to the potential damage it could do to our crops."
But farmers are hopeful the rain moves out as quickly as it's moving in, giving their crops time to dry out.
"You're dealing with mother nature here, there's only so much you can do and the rest is just kind of waiting to see what happens," said Jacobsen.
Although farmers are doing everything they can to keep their crops dry, it appears as though they are simply running out of time.
