The cherry harvest is off to a late start in Washington

The colder, rainier than usual weather across the Northwest has snarled the region's cherry-growing season.

Jim Jamison owns a small plot in Richland. Wash. and says that by now, he'd normally have hundreds of customers shopping with them at a u-pick orchard.

“I think ours in the Northwest will be late," Jamison said. "I fully expect there will be growers in the valley here picking cherries in mid-July and beyond, perhaps it depends on varieties.”

B.J. Thurlby, president of the Washington State Fruit Commission, says 40% of cherries in Washington state had yet to bloom when snow fell on the orchards in mid-April.

The bright red Bings have been the most affected by the late snowfall.