HDR1012000170100104951200WEEKLY WEATHER & CROP BULLETIN HDR2012000170100104951200NAT. AGRI. SUMMARY NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY December 26 - January 1, 1995 HIGHLIGHTS: The new year began with sparse snow cover across the northern half of the Nation. Early in the week, warm weather in the Northern Plains melted much of the protective snow cover for winter wheat. By the end of the week, the warm weather was pushed away by an Arctic air mass that descended from Canada. Meager snow accumulation raised producers' concern for the protection of winter wheat as the temperatures dropped. Snow cover was considerably below last year's level for parts of the Dakotas. Flooding in western Washington subsided as the warm weather that melted the snow was replaced by cool, dry weather late in the week. Light rain in California slowed field activities, while producers in some areas pre-irrigated small grain fields. In Iowa piles of corn stored on the ground still remain to be moved before the deadline for emergency storage expires. Farmers accomplished some fieldwork and fertilizer application in the Midwest early in the week before the weekend storm arrived. Florida citrus harvest was active and citrus processors operated around the clock to move the early fruit. SMALL GRAINS: Warm weather in the Northern Plains that melted the protective snow cover for winter wheat was replaced by an Arctic air mass. Depleted snow cover in parts of the Middle Mississippi Valley was replaced by a weekend snow storm. Wind damage to winter wheat in Montana was rated as mostly light to none, while Nebraska wheat was reported as in mostly good to fair condition. Snow cover in North Dakota was deep enough to protect 64 percent (%) of the wheat. More snow was needed in the Ohio Valley to provide adequate protection from the colder weather. In the Texas Plains, dryland wheat fields continued to show signs of stress from a shortage of moisture. Greenbugs continue to be reported as a problem in parts of Texas, where 98% of the wheat was emerged, 2 points behind last year. HDR2012000170100104951200NAT. WEATHER SUMMARY National Weather Summary Volume 82, No. 1 December 25 - 31, 1994 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: The week began with an unusually narrow temperature range--from a low on Sunday of 8 degrees F in Williston, ND to a high of 71 degrees F in Key West, FL--and daily-record warmth in the Northern States, but by Saturday, an arctic plunge sent temperatures to as low as -29 degrees F in Stanley, ID. Nevertheless, weekly temperatures averaged 10 to 20 degrees F above normal in the North Central States. The encroachment of arctic high pressure suppressed heavy precipitation in all but the Pacific Northwest and the South Central States. Snow developed in the central Plains late in the week. Outside the contiguous States, unseasonable warmth overtook Alaska, while dryness persisted in much of Hawaii. San Juan, PR set a daily record on December 26 with 91 degrees F. During the first half of the week, 18 daily-record highs were established from the Northwest to New England, precipitation spread from the Southwest into southern Texas, and for the third time in 3 weeks, a round of heavy rain caused flooding and mudslides in the Pacific Northwest. In Michigan, daily records were broken by 10 degrees F or more in Alpena (50 degrees F on Tuesday and Wednesday) and Marquette (46 degrees F on Sunday). Other daily records included 53 degrees F in Portland, ME on Sunday, and 61 degrees F in Eugene, OR on Tuesday. Warmth in Washington was accompanied by 7.13 inches of rain at Quillayute and more than 8 inches in Grays River. Astoria, OR reported 4.94 inches. On Tuesday, winds to 98 mph were clocked in southwestern Oregon's Curry County. In Tillamook County, Netarts, OR registered a gust to 75 mph. Meanwhile in the Southwest, rainfall included 1.13 inches in Douglas, AZ and 0.91 inches in Blythe, CA. With 0.87 inches of rain on December 26-27, El Paso, TX garnered nearly one-sixth of its annual total. Rainfall measured 1.70 inches at Del Rio, TX on Tuesday, setting a record for the date. Elsewhere in Texas, storm totals topped 2 inches at locations such as Corpus Christi and Longview. The weather system responsible for Texas' rain weakened as it crossed the Southeast, sheared apart by an arctic surge to its north. Across New England on Thursday, wind gusts included 72 mph in Milton (Blue Hill Obs.), MA and 56 mph in Concord, NH. Saranac Lake, NY registered -9 degrees F on Friday morning. Late in the week, a second storm entered the Southwest and tracked rapidly northeastward, preceded by a large shield of mostly light precipitation. By late Saturday, 6 inches of new snow blanketed Red River, NM, Ft. Collins, CO, Grand Island, NE, and Russell, KS. Two-inch depths were measured at locations such as Des Moines, IA, Kansas City, MO, and Great Falls, MT. At week's end, rain overspread the East, with heavy amounts confined to the central Gulf Coast. In the Northeast, freezing rain plagued valleys of the Appalachian foothills. In the storm's wake, temperatures plummeted in the High Plains, falling to -16 degrees F by Sunday morning in Scottsbluff, NE.