HDR1012000170100227961200WEEKLY WEATHER & CROP BULLETIN HDR2012000170100227961200NAT. AGRI. & Nat. Weather Summ. NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY February 19 - 25, 1996 HIGHLIGHTS: Range fires in Texas destroyed thousands of acres of grazing land and some farm buildings. Temperatures climbed to record high levels in south Texas, where cotton producers started planting. Row crop planting was beginning in central Texas even though some areas have gone five months without significant precipitation. A heat wave in the south-central Great Plains aggravated prolonged dry conditions but raised soil temperatures and greened wheat, where soil moisture was available. Field activities from California's San Joaquin Valley northward were limited by rain and wet soils. Cotton fields were prepared for planting in the Sacramento Valley, while planting was underway in the Imperial Valley. Florida's citrus growers applied low volume irrigation to stimulate growth following the previous month's cold weather. Due to balmy conditions in south Florida, vegetables recovered from the previous cold. National Weather Summary Volume 83, No. 8 February 18 - 24, 1996 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: February-record heat, breezy conditions, and the continuation of a 20-week dry spell further stressed wheat and sparked wildfires across the central and southern Plains. Nearly half of the warm spell's 130 daily records and 15 February records were set in Texas. Farther west, a series of storms dumped copious mountain snowfall from California to Colorado, totaling more than 10 inches of water equivalent in parts of the Sierra Nevada. Heavy rain fell along the West Coast as far south as Los Angeles. In the East, an early-week chill yielded to rain, with 1- to 3-inch totals observed in many areas from the central Gulf Coast region to New England. On Sunday, cold air lingered across Florida, producing daily records in locations such as Melbourne (30 degrees F) and Ft. Myers (36 degrees F). In Michigan, Marquette (-21 degrees F) also noted a daily-record low. Meanwhile, a vast area of warmth over western North America shifted southeastward, resulting in weekly temperature departures of +10 degrees F or more throughout the Plains. On Sunday, record warmth stretched as far north as Alaska, where Kodiak registered 49 degrees F. By February 21, however, temperatures plunged below -40 degrees F in interior Alaska, where Fairbanks' low of -44 degrees F represented a 3-day drop of 74 degrees F. Rainfall quickly developed and expanded across the East on Monday, boosting weekly totals above 2 inches in locations such as Panama City, FL and Portland, ME. Severe weather, including a half-dozen tornadoes in Mississippi, raked the South on Monday. Meanwhile, very heavy rain drenched the West Coast, causing localized flooding. In southern California's San Gabriel Mountains, 72-hour (February 19-22) rainfall totaled 13.77 inches atop Mt. Wilson and 8.65 inches in Wrightwood. At the L.A. Civic Center, 3.44 inches fell on February 20-21. In California's Sierra Nevada foothills, Blue Canyon received 9.07 inches during the week, including a 19-inch snow accumulation as temperatures fell. At higher elevations, the Sierra Nevada snowpack approached normal for this time of year, having rebounded from about one-third of normal in early January. Farther north, nearly 2 inches of rain pelted Portland, OR, boosting their monthly total to a February-record 10.03 inches. As colder weather arrived, snow accumulated in Medford, OR (0.9 inches on February 20-21) for the first time this winter. Toward week's end, snow fell at sea-level in western Washington, where Seattle measured a half-inch on February 23-24. East of the Washington Cascades, a 1- to 3-inch snowfall helped to protect winter wheat from colder weather and late-week winds that gusted to 55 mph in Hanford. In western Montana, snowfall on February 23-24 totaled 13.2 inches at Butte. The Nation's first 100-degree reading of the year occurred on Tuesday in McAllen, TX. A day later, the heat wave peaked across southern and eastern Texas, resulting in a high of 100 degrees F in San Antonio, their earliest triple-digit heat (formerly March 6, 1991). February-record highs reached 99 degrees F in College Station and Austin, shattering marks set in 1986. On Thursday, the heat edged northward, breaking February records in Oklahoma City, OK (92 degrees F) and Wichita, KS (87 degrees F). In addition to the heat, southwesterly winds on Thursday gusted to 48 mph in Lubbock, TX and 30 mph in Wichita. Furthermore, measurable rain has not yet fallen this year in parts of southern Texas, where San Antonio's 56-day dry spell (through February 24) ranked as their second longest on record. According to media accounts, wildfires during 1996 have charred nearly 300 square miles of rangeland and forest in the South-Central States. At week's end, a burning ban continued across Texas, while a fire emergency was placed into effect in Oklahoma. A cold front traversed the central and southern Plains on Friday, generating gusty northwesterly winds. Peak winds were clocked at 41 mph at both Lubbock and Wichita. Winds reversed again at week's end across primary hard red winter wheat areas, becoming southerly and gusting at 30 to 50 mph in advance of a developing storm over the West. Meanwhile, warmth spread into the Southeast. On February 23, highs of 83 degrees F in Knoxville, TN and Birmingham, AL tied monthly records. Farther north, a low-pressure system spread late-week rain showers through the Northeast. On the storm's southern edge, westerly winds on Saturday howled at 53 mph in Buffalo, NY and 54 mph in Wilmington, DE.