HDR1012000170100404951200WEEKLY WEATHER & CROPBULLETIN
HDR2012000170100404951200NAT. AGRI. SUMMARY

                          NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY

                            March 27 - April 2, 1995

HIGHLIGHTS:   Spring planting was slowed in the Gulf Coast region by heavy rains
of 2 inches or more.  Rice and winter wheat growth in the Delta was slowed by
cool, wet weather.  Producers were busy preparing fields and planting in the
lower Mississippi Valley.  Predominantly dry weather across the Central States
allowed fieldwork to progress, while rain and snow in the Midwest limited
fieldwork.  Wet soil slowed field activities in California, where some fields
remained flooded.  Wet, wintry weather in the Northern States left fields
saturated and delayed ground preparation.  Field preparation was active in the
Ohio Valley, where some fields dried enough to allow farmers to plow, but low
soil temperatures prevented planting.  Field groundwork for cotton was in full
swing in the Southeastern States.


SMALL GRAINS:  The winter wheat crop for the Nation was mostly good to fair,
with 13(%) percent reported as excellent this year compared to 5% rated as
excellent last year.  Wheat was overseeded in Oregon where poor wheat stands and
weed infestations were reported.  Rain in the lower Mississippi Valley improved
the winter wheat condition.  Winter wheat in Kansas was rated as mostly good to
excellent, with light freeze damage and wheat streak mosaic reported in the
western districts of the State.  Kansas reported wheat jointing at 43%, compared
with an average of 14% for the State.  Texas wheat growth was slowed by cool,
cloudy weather.  Traces of rain in the Texas Plains did little to benefit
dryland wheat.  Greenbug damage was high, but activity was slowed by the chilly
weather during the week.  Wheat diseases prompted farmers in Georgia to apply
fungicides.

HDR2012000170100404951200NAT. WEATHER SUMMARY
                            National Weather Summary
                                Volume 82, No. 14
                            March 26 - April 1, 1995

                For additional information, call (202) 720-7917.

Highlights:  High pressure overspread much of the Nation in the wake of a slow-
moving storm, resulting in several cool days.  Persistent rainfall was confined
to the Gulf Coast States, where several sub-tropical impulses interacted with a
stalled front.  Heavy snow tapered to flurries by midweek in the central Rockies
and the North-Central States.

Early in the week, cold weather may have caused freeze damage to sensitive-stage
orchard blooms in the Southwest, and to winter wheat in the southern High
Plains.  On Sunday, temperatures dropped to freezing as far south as Tucson, AZ,
which noted a daily-record.  A day later, readings in the Texas Plains dropped
to 22 degrees F at Dalhart and 25 degrees F at Amarillo.  Much-needed
precipitation followed the freeze, including 0.27 inches at Amarillo,
representing about 25 percent of their year-to-date total.  At midweek, an inch
of snow covered the ground as far south as Dalhart.

Wheat areas farther north benefited from snowfall that accumulated 7 inches in
Goodland, KS and 3 inches in Great Falls, MT by Monday morning.  Lewistown, MT
was buried under 2 feet of powder by Wednesday, while north-central Montana's
Bear Paw Mountains received up to 3 feet.  Farther east, wet snow accumulated 8
inches by late Monday in Jamestown, ND.  Elsewhere, depths included 5 inches in
Eau Claire, WI and 4 inches in Alexandria, MN.  Along the storm's trailing cold
front, rainfall locally topped an inch from the middle Mississippi Valley into
northeastern Texas.  Rainfall at Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX pushed their monthly total
to 6.69 inches, a March record.  Weekly rainfall along the Gulf Coast topped 3
inches at Tallahassee, FL, New Orleans, LA, and Mobile, AL.  Baton Rouge, LA
recorded 4.04 inches.

Offshore winds resulted in a rapid warming trend in the Pacific Northwest.
Portland, OR tallied a high of 72 degrees F on Thursday, 4 days after a daily-
record-tying low of 31 degrees F.  Eugene, OR (77 degrees F) tied its March
record on Thursday.  Daily-record highs were toppled between March 27-29 in
Quillayute, WA, including a high of 68 degrees F on Tuesday.  Farther north,
Alaska's severe 2-week cold wave ended abruptly.  On Thursday, Nome (41 degrees
F) notched a daily-record high, while temperatures soared to 58 degrees F in
Petersburg and Skagway.  In the Nation's opposite corner, short-term dryness
persisted in San Juan, PR (53 percent of normal rainfall since March 1), while
in Florida, late-week, daily-record highs included 90 degrees F in Hollywood on
Thursday, and 91 degrees F in West Palm Beach on Friday.