HDR1012000170100418951200WEEKLY WEATHER & CROPBULLETIN HDR2012000170100418951200NAT. AGRI. SUMMARY NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY April 10 - 16, 1995 HIGHLIGHTS: Freeze damage to wheat fields extended from Kansas to the Texas plains. The severity of damage has not yet been determined. Dry conditions had stressed the crop before the cold temperatures arrived early in the week. Cotton planting in California advanced briskly but progress for the week remained behind normal. Rain in northern California slowed fieldwork, but assisted small grain growth. Heavy rains caused flooding in the Delta that washed away rice levees and damaged some row crop fields. Rain in the Gulf Coast was welcomed, settling cotton beds prior to planting. In the middle Mississippi Valley, producers were planting row crops as fields dried. Dry soils in the Atlantic States and the Tennessee Valley continued to hamper spring planting, and producers worried that the dry soil condition would lower germination. Heavy rains in the Ohio Valley were welcomed, but stalled planting. Fieldwork was delayed in the Midwest by cool, cloudy, and wet weather. Soil temperature in the Midwest remained too cool to plant corn. In southern Illinois, drier soil allowed farmers to apply fertilizer and herbicides. Cold, wet weather in the Great Lakes region frustrated producers who were preparing land for spring planting. SMALL GRAINS: The Nation's winter wheat crop was in mostly good to fair condition. Low temperatures in Kansas early in the week, dropped wheat condition rated as good to excellent 27 percentage points, from 85 percent(%) last week to 58% for the current week. Freeze damage to wheat in Kansas is primarily in the west-central and southwestern districts of the State. Wheat rated as good to excellent in Texas also fell due to the freezing weather by 17 percentage points from 37% last week to 21% rated as good to excellent for the current week. Thick stands of wheat in Ohio raised producers' concern that a lack of air flow may cause disease problems. In Montana, 8% of the wheat was still dormant, while in Texas 21% of the winter wheat was headed. Wheat headed in the 19 major producing States was 7%, 1 point ahead of the 5-year average. Spring wheat seeding was 3% complete, 13 points below the average. South Dakota producers were prevented from planting by wet field conditions, leaving the State 39 points behind the average. FIELD CROPS: Corn planted was 5% complete for the Nation,keeping pace with last year and the average. Most of the progress was made by Kentucky, Missouri, and North Carolina, where dry conditions aided planting but left some producers concerned with germination rates. Cool, wet weather in the Midwest slowed planting and field preparation. Cotton planting was 10% complete, 2 points behind the average for the 14 major producing States. Planting progress in California was 23 points below the average. Arizona cotton planting was 45% complete, while Texas cotton planting was 13% complete, with both States equal to the average. Land preparation and pre-irrigation was concluded in the Texas plains, leaving producers ready to begin cotton planting. Sorghum planting was 15% complete, 1 point below the average for the 14 major producing States. Planting was ahead of schedule in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Rain delayed planting in Texas and Louisiana. Rice seeding was 32% complete, 10 points ahead of the average for the 5 major producing States. California rice fields were burned and sprayed for weeds in preparation for planting. Louisiana rice planting was 56% complete, 10 points ahead of the average, but heavy rains during the week slowed some planting progress. HDR2012000170100418951200NAT. WEATHER SUMMARY National Weather Summary Volume 82, No. 15 April 9 - 15, 1995 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. HIGHLIGHTS: Cold air dove southward into the Nation's mid-section in the wake of a major spring storm, causing some freeze damage to jointing-to- heading stage winter wheat from west-central Kansas into the northern Panhandle of Texas. Heavy snow fell from the central Rockies into Minnesota, while heavy rain caused significant flooding in the central Gulf Coast region. Minor flooding was reported northward into the Midwest. Much-needed showers dampened the Eastern States. Quieter conditions prevailed after midweek, although cool, unsettled weather persisted in the Northeast. Meanwhile, another Pacific storm ushered cool, damp conditions into the West during the last half of the week, inducing a rapid warm-up, along with scattered showers, in the Central States. Early in the week,heavy snow shifted into the Plains from the Wasatch Range and the central Rockies. In Alta, UT, snow tapered to flurries on Monday after a 22-inch accumulation. Just east of the Colorado Front Range, depths by Monday morning included 17 inches in Beulah and 13 inches in Walsenburg. An inch of snow fell as far south as Las Vegas, NM. In central and eastern South Dakota, where snow fell almost continuously into early Wednesday, depths reached 16 inches in Huron and 12 inches in Aberdeen and Pierre. The month-to-date total in Huron reached 22.4 inches,accounting for nearly 40 percent of their seasonal snowfall. A storm total of 34 inches was reported in Selby, SD. Midweek depths in Nebraska included 11 inches in Mullen and 10 inches in Ainsworth. A day earlier, 7 inches covered Imperial, NE and Goodland, KS. Temperatures dramatically fell in the southern Plains, where highs late last week were in the middle 80's to lower 90's. In Texas, where 11 percent of the wheat was reported to be headed when the cold struck, daily-record lows were recorded on Tuesday in Amarillo (20 degrees F), Midland (28 degrees F), and Abilene (32 degrees F). The event occurred 17 days after the average last- freeze date in Abilene, and 14 days beyond average in Midland. Farther north, lows included 25 degrees F in Gage, OK, 24 degrees F in Russell, KS, and 21 degrees F in Dodge City, KS. Substantially lower readings were observed in areas with snow cover, including a daily record of 11 degrees F in Pueblo, CO. In the storm's warm sector, more than two dozen daily records were set before midweek. On Monday, highs reached 90 degrees F as far north as Evansville, IN. McAllen, TX registered a high of 101 degrees F. Highs of 91 degrees F in Chattanooga, TN and 89 degrees F in Nashville, TN were the highest temperatures on record for so early in the year. But north of the warm front, Syracuse, NY (18 degrees F) tallied a daily-record low for April 10. Thunderstorm erupted from the western Gulf Coast States northward along the cold front into the Midwest on Monday and Tuesday. In Louisiana,more than 7 inches of rain fell on April 10-11 in Leesville and Baton Rouge, while local 24-hour totals topped 13 inches. Significant flooding ensued in several basins, including along the Amite, Comite, and Calcasieu Rivers, with crests as high as 6 to 7 feet above flood stage. More than 2 inches of rain fell as far north as the Ozark Plateau, causing widespread minor flooding. Although rainfall intensities diminished as the front swept eastward, beneficial showers were welcomed in the Southeast on Tuesday, and along the East Coast a day later. Measurable rain fell on Nashville, TN for the first time in 15 days. The tenth longest dry spell on record (21 days) came to an end in Raleigh-Durham, NC on April 12. Warm weather returned to the Southwestern and Central States by Thursday in advance of an approaching storm. Amarillo, TX noted a daily-record maximum of 92 degrees F, while Garden City, KS hit a record 91 degrees F on Friday. The warmth rapidly melted the snow from Monday's stormin Nebraska and South Dakota, leaving no trace of it by the weekend. Meanwhile, new snow overspread higher elevations of the West, including 10 inches near Havre, MT. By Saturday, rain spread eastward into North Dakota and Minnesota, while a few strong thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front in the central Great Plains by week's end. Along the Pacific Coast, yet another storm system pushed inland along the California-Oregon border, bringing light precipitation to the area. Subnormal rainfall continued across Hawaii last week, with most locations receiving only a tenth of an inch. Unseasonably mild weather covered much of Alaska by the week's end, replacing Arctic air that covered extreme western sections earlier in the period.