HDR1012000170100221961200WEEKLY WEATHER & CROP BULLETIN HDR2012000170100221961200NAT. AGRI. & Nat. Weather SUMM. NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY February 12 - 18, 1996 HIGHLIGHTS: Producers delayed planting of summer crops in the southern Great Plains due to extremely dry soil conditions. Some areas of Texas have not had measurable precipitation since late December, forcing livestock producers to burn prickly pear cactus for cattle to feed on. Warm, windy weather depleted soil moisture supplies and caused some small grain greening from Texas to the Kansas border. Poor wheat stands, with inadequate root structures and dry soil conditions, encouraged wind erosion in the central Great Plains. Heavy rains in Oregon triggered mudslides and flooding that damaged irrigation structures in the Hood River area. Standing water remained in some small grain fields in California, while cotton fields were treated with herbicides and prepared for planting. Freezing temperatures in central Florida caused little or no damage to citrus. Later in the week, heavy frost damaged some vegetable acreage in Dade County, while freezing temperatures around Lake Okeechobee killed some young vegetables. National Weather Summary Volume 83, No. 7 February 11 - 17, 1996 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: A strong ridge aloft fueled warmth in the West, resulting in more than 100 daily records. Farther east, several disturbances plunged southeastward, reinforcing a cool pattern across the East, including a minor freeze into central Florida on February 17. Late in the week, a disturbance tapped Atlantic moisture, generating heavy snow along the Atlantic Seaboard. Meanwhile, precipitation returned to the West Coast after a week's absence. But in the central and southern Plains, winter wheat continued to be stressed by temperature oscillations, breezy conditions, and the cumulative effects of a 20-week dry spell. Early in the week, dry weather permitted rivers in western Oregon--including the Willamette--to recede from their most damaging levels since late-December 1964. On Monday, the first of six consecutive daily records occurred in Blanding, UT (68 degrees F on February 14 and 16) and Quillayute, WA (70 degrees F on February 15). Highs topped 80 degrees F as far north as Redding, CA (82 degrees F). At midweek, warmth spread across the South, where Waco, TX registered 87oF. On Thursday, as a low-pressure system crossed the Midwest en route to the East Coast, briefly cooler air spread southward through the Plains. Northerly component winds gusted to 46 mph in Wichita, KS, 52 mph in Concordia, KS, and 53 mph in Valentine, NE, helping to lower temperatures into the single digits by Friday morning. Farther south, 32-mph winds pushed through San Antonio, TX, where no rain has fallen yet this year. Heavy snow developed on Friday from the Middle Atlantic States into New England as low pressure intensified offshore. Storm totals of 10.3 inches in Windsor Locks, CT; 9.8 inches in Baltimore (BWI), MD; 7.5 inches in Philadelphia, PA and at Dulles Airport, VA; and 7.0 inches in Providence, RI boosted seasonal snowfalls to all-time records. Totals in the Southeast included 5.6 inches in Raleigh-Durham, NC, 1.2 inches in Huntsville, AL, and 1.0 inch in Greenville-Spartanburg, SC. On Saturday, record warmth continued in the West as far north as Alaska, where highs included 46 degrees F in Kodiak and 42 degrees F on St. Paul Island. In the Southwest, Albuquerque, NM recorded 70 degrees F, while Las Vegas, NV (81 degrees F) notched their first 80-degree reading of the year, 32 days earlier than normal. Meanwhile, more than an inch of rain dampened Brookings, OR and Blue Canyon, CA. Farther east, daily-record lows along the Gulf Coast included 20 degrees F in Mobile, AL, 28 degrees F in Lake Charles, LA, and 34 degrees F in Tampa, FL. Elsewhere in Peninsular Florida, daily records included 30 degrees F in Lakeland and 35 degrees F in both Ft. Myers and West Palm Beach. Cool air also invaded Hawaii, where weekly temperatures averaged 2 to 4 degrees F below normal.