HDR1012000170100214951200WEEKLY WEATHER & CROP BULLETIN HDR2012000170100214951200NAT. AGRI. SUMMARY NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY February 6 - 12, 1995 HIGHLIGHTS: Warm weather in the Great Plains and Eastern States gave way to low temperatures late in the week. Unseasonable warm weather in the Northwestern States triggered fruit tree development. Record-breaking warm weather in Oregon stimulated buds to swell and raised producer's concern for freeze damage later in the season. Wet soils slowed fieldwork in California's San Joaquin Valley, where some low-lying small grain fields still remained yellowed from the excessive moisture. Small grains in the Southwestern States were progressing well with virtually all stands established and many wheat fields already jointing. Dryland wheat fields in the Texas Plains did not receive any rain over the week and remained in critical need of moisture. Dry weather in the lower Mississippi Valley allowed some fields with sandy soil to be prepared for cotton planting. Surplus soil moisture across most of the Southeastern States delayed land preparation for Spring planting. Producers in Mississippi were waiting for drier weather before applying nitrogen to wheat fields. Snowfall in the High Plains protected the winter wheat from the blast of Arctic air and provided needed moisture. Bitter cold in the Dakotas stressed livestock and required increased supplemental feeding. A gust of Arctic air also swept into the Midwest late in the week, bringing snow and limiting field activities. Snow depth in Iowa was 2 inches, while average frost penetration was 11 inches. Field crops in Florida were undamaged from the late-week temperature plunge, and citrus foliage in some locations may have been burned, but was expected to regrow rapidly. HDR2012000170100214951200NAT. WEATHER SUMMARY National Weather Summary Volume 82, No. 7 February 5 - 11, 1995 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: A series of arctic high pressure systems crossed the Canadian border progressively farther west, systematically ending the Nation's warm spell. Sub-freezing temperatures were observed on Thursday morning as far south as Florida's central peninsula. Only light precipitation fell across the Nation, except for late-week rains in the Southeast. Early in the week, snow lingered in northern New England and downwind of the Great Lakes in the wake of last week's storm. Breezy, cold weather filtered into the remainder of the East, setting more than a dozen daily-record lows. Records on February 6 included -7 degrees F in Binghamton, NY and 10 degrees F in Greensboro, NC. A day later, among the half-dozen records were lows of -18 degrees F in Albany, NY and 31 degrees F in Melbourne, FL. Preceding a second blast of cold, light snow overspread the Midwestern and Southeastern States. On Monday, a 3-inch snowfall in Memphis, TN was their greatest single-storm accumulation in nearly 7 years. A day later, Crossville, TN collected 5 inches, while Savannah, GA recorded a trace. On February 9, temperatures fell into the 20's as far south as Kissimmee, FL (29 degrees F) and Plant City, FL (27 degrees F), and into the single digits as far south as Greenville, SC (9 degrees F). Among the 16 daily records were lows of 34 degrees F in Ft. Myers, FL and 1 degrees F in Bristol, TN. Although the cold weather provided much-needed chill hours for the Southeast's fruit trees, it also delivered a minor-to-moderate freeze to Florida's northernmost citrus and vegetable areas. A light freeze occurred into the northern Everglades, where lows included 32 degrees F at Immokalee and 31 degrees F at Belle Glade. Frost formation did not occur due to extremely low dewpoints, and the low temperatures occurred primarily due to advection (winds) rather than radiation. Meanwhile, warm weather prevailed in the West, as well as in Alaska and Puerto Rico. Nearly two dozen locations broke daily-record highs during the first half of the week, including Klamath Falls, OR (63 degrees F on Sunday), Grand Junction, CO (60 degrees F on Tuesday), and Spokane, WA (53 degrees F on Wednesday). Weekly temperatures averaged up to 23 degrees F above normal in Alaska, with above-freezing readings noted early in the week as far north as Bettles (38 degrees F) and Fairbanks (34 degrees F). San Juan, PR recorded 91 degrees F on February 5 en route to a weekly average temperature of 3 degrees F above normal. Late in the week, arctic air spilled southward, encroaching on the Pacific Northwest and the Plains for the first time since early January. The West's warmth was repositioned across the Nations's southern tier, resulting in a daily-record high of 93 degrees F in Brownsville, TX on February 11. On the same day in northern Texas, Dalhart recorded a low of 16 degrees F. By late Saturday, lows dipped to -16 degrees F in Aberdeen, SD and to -15 degrees F in Great Falls, MT. Low-level moisture surged into the Southeast beginning on Thursday, drawn northeastward in part by the approaching arctic front. By week's end, rainfall topped 2 inches in locations such as Montgomery, AL, Atlanta, GA, Columbia, SC, and Wilmington, NC. The northwestern fringe of the precipitation shield--from northeastern Texas to the southern Appalachians--changed to snow and sleet. Tupelo, MS, with 1.9 inches, tallied a daily-record snowfall for February 11. Farther west, heavy upslope snow developed in the central High Plains, with storm totals of 11.2 inches in Cheyenne, WY and 6.1 inches in Denver, CO. At week's end, up to 2 feet of snow blanketed the central Rockies and Utah's Wasatch as an infusion of Pacific moisture overran the cold air.