HDR1012000170101119961200WEEKLY WEATHER & CROP BULLETIN Released November 19, 1996, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" call Greg Preston at (202) 720-7621, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. For assistance with general agricultural statistics, information about NASS, its products or services, contact the Agricultural Statistics Hotline at 1-800-727-9540 or E-mail: NASS@NASS.USDA.GOV. NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY November 11 - 17, 1996 HIGHLIGHTS: Wet weather across the central Great Plains late in the week slowed row-crop harvest activity and prevented producers from completing small grain seeding. Freezing rain and snow in parts of the western Corn Belt brought row-crop harvest to a halt and reduced fall tillage and fertilizer application. Wet weather and poor drying conditions in the middle Mississippi Valley limited the row-crop harvest. Blizzard conditions in the Dakotas halted harvests, leaving some row crops unharvested until spring. In the Great Lakes region, farmers hurried to chisel their fields before a deep frost occurs. Surplus soil moisture in the Delta caused harvests to fall behind schedule. Producers in the Ohio Valley struggled with muddy fields as they attempted to finish combining remaining row crops. Dry, but colder-than-normal weather in the Southeast did not prevent producers from entering fields to resume seeding small grains and harvesting row crops. Heavy rains in the Pacific Northwest failed to deter the active Christmas tree harvest. Blowing sand damaged some vegetables in Florida, where gusty winds scarred fruit and damaged some vine crops. The winter wheat crop in the 19 major producing States was 93 percent (%) emerged, up 4 percentage points from last week and 6 points ahead of the 5-year average. In Kansas, wet weather prevented wheat seeding in some fields. In the Ohio Valley, low temperatures and muddy fields brought an end to wheat seedings. Producers in the Dakotas were concerned that short wheat stands may be susceptible to blow-out during the winter months. Snow in parts of Montana provided good cover for winter wheat. The rain and snow in the central Great Plains aided the wheat crop entering dormancy. Wheat acreage, 99% emerged in Texas, was 21 points ahead of the average. Corn harvested at 88% complete was up 9 points from last week and 1 point ahead, of normal. In the Midwest, lodging caused by the previous weeks high winds forced producers to run their combines slower. High moisture levels in the upper Midwest slowed the corn harvest. The Indiana corn harvest at 78% complete was 11 days behind the average. Corn harvested in Ohio, at 61% complete, was 20 points behind the average. Cotton acreage harvested was estimated at 77%, up 8 points from last week, and 1 point ahead of the average. Cotton growers in Oklahoma harvested 35% of their acreage, up 7 points from the previous week, but 17 points behind normal. The cotton harvest was winding down in the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys, but growers were concerned with lower quality due to lint stained by rain. In the Delta, producers were busy cutting stalks and discing fields to control weevil populations. In Texas, the cotton harvest was delayed by damp mornings, with some producers still waiting for a freeze to aid defoliation. Sorghum harvested at 92% complete was up 7 points from the previous week and 1 point ahead of the average. In Oklahoma, sorghum harvested at 83% complete was up 14 points from last week. The sorghum harvest in Texas at 94% complete neared completion, but some late-planted fields in northern Texas remained too green for harvest. Soybean acreage harvested, at 92%, was up 3 points from last week but 3 points behind the average. In Tennessee, the soybean harvest was 59% complete, 19 points behind normal, due to wet field conditions. Dry weather in the Southeast allowed soybean harvest activity to progress rapidly. Soybeans harvested in Georgia at 69% complete was nearly a week ahead of normal. National Weather Summary Volume 83, No. 46 November 10 - 16, 1996 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: An arctic airmass fueled lake-effect snow squalls through Thursday before settling over the Northeast at week's end. The difference in pressure between the arctic high and a low-pressure system (later Tropical Storm Marco) south of Cuba resulted in persistent easterly winds across the Southern Atlantic States and the Gulf of Mexico, causing heavy surf and higher-than-normal tides. Farther west, widespread rain soaked the western Corn Belt and ended a 6- to 7-week dry spell on parts of the central Plains. Precipitation began as snow, sleet, or freezing rain across the upper Midwest, while wind-driven snow engulfed parts of the northern Plains and Rockies. A 7-week dry spell persisted, however, on the southern Plains. At week's end, very cold air edged into the northern and central Plains, while a band of Pacific storminess reached the West Coast. The Pacific moisture stretched to Hawaii, where rainfall deluged Oahu for a second consecutive week. The November 9-14 squalls dumped tremendous amounts of snow in favored locations downwind of the Great Lakes. Totals reached 30 inches at Hurley, WI, in the Lake Superior snow belt, and near Osceola, NY, leeward of Lake Ontario. Prodigious snowfall was observed downwind of Lake Erie, including 68.9 inches in Chardon, OH and 54.8 inches in Edinboro, PA. The squalls boosted monthly snowfall to 20.8 inches in Cleveland, OH (only 1.5 inches shy of their November record), 27.3 inches in Erie, PA, 16.9 inches in Syracuse, NY, and 11.5 inches in South Bend, IN. The surge of cold air held weekly temperatures 10 to 16 degrees F below normal from the northern Plains to the East Coast and resulted in about three dozen daily-record lows on November 11-16. On Tuesday, daily records included 16 degrees F in Cincinnati, OH and 28 degrees F in Florence, SC. Among the dozen records on Friday were lows of 3 degrees F in Elkins, WV and 11 degrees F in Flint, MI. November-record barometric readings were reported on Saturday in Philadelphia, PA (30.85 inches, or 1045 millibars) and Newark, NJ (30.84 inches, or 1044 millibars). Farther south, late-week wind gusts topped 40 mph in eastern Florida; even in the interior, Winter Haven clocked a gust to 40 mph on Saturday. An area of light mixed precipitation spread from the central Plains to the Middle Atlantic region at midweek, followed by more impressive storminess across the Western and Central States. On Thursday, the season's first snowfall (0.7 inches) blanketed Dulles Airport, VA. A day later, snow and ice preceded heavy rainfall across the northwestern Corn Belt. Snowfall reached 0.6 inches in LaCrosse, WI. In Des Moines, IA, the mercury rose to 32 degrees F on Thursday, ending a 5-day stretch of sub-freezing weather, their longest in November since 1985. More than 2 inches of rain pelted most areas from the central Plains to the upper Midwest. In Minnesota, both Duluth and Minneapolis collected daily-record precipitation on November 15-16. The 2-day total reached 3.40 inches in Duluth, 189 percent of their November normal; 2.85 inches soaked Minneapolis. Farther south, 2.76 inches deluged Dodge City, KS on November 15-16, breaking their 24-hour November record. Little or no rain fell on the southern Plains, however, where October 1 - November 16 totals were as low as 0.33 inches (14 percent of normal) in Lubbock. Late in the week, blizzard conditions raked parts of the North-Central States. In Fargo, ND, snowfall totaled 13.5 inches on November 16-17, accompanied by wind gusts to 48 mph. Farther west, Glasgow, MT received measurable snowfall, totaling 13.4 inches, on 7 consecutive days (November 9-15), tying their November record, followed by a low of -11 degrees F on Saturday. In the storm's wake, light snow fell on Saturday as far south as Grand Island, NE (2.0 inches) and Colorado Springs, CO (0.2 inches). Farther west, 23 inches fell at Alta in Utah's Wasatch Range on November 15-17. A strong surge of Pacific moisture arrived along the West Coast at week's end. In eastern Washington, 3.3 inches of snow fell on Saturday in Spokane. Heavy rain developed on Saturday night in northern California. Nearly a dozen daily-record highs were scattered around the West, as weekly temperatures averaged 2 to 6 degrees F above normal. Highs reached 72 degrees F at both Klamath Falls, OR (on Monday) and Flagstaff, AZ (on Tuesday). Much-above-normal temperatures also dominated western and northern Alaska. In Barrow, where the weekly temperature averaged 19 degrees F above normal, the mercury reached 35 degrees F on Saturday. Meanwhile in Hawaii, 12.01 inches of rain deluged Honolulu, boosting their monthly total to a November-record 18.72 inches. Only 13.60 inches fell there during all of 1995. Elsewhere on Oahu, where flooding was extensive, monthly rainfall surpassed 20 inches in a few spots. Corn: Percent Harvested, Soybeans: Percent Harvested, Selected States Selected States -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1991- :-----------------------: 1991- State:Nov 17,:Nov 10,:Nov 17,: 1995 State:Nov 17,:Nov 10,:Nov 17,: 1995 : 1996 : 1996 : 1995 : Avg. : 1996 : 1996 : 1995 : Avg. -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- : Percent : Percent : : CO : 96 94 85 86 AL : 77 62 66 72 GA : 100 100 100 100 AR : 73 68 94 88 IL : 92 84 99 92 GA : 69 52 42 59 IN : 78 65 98 86 IL : 98 95 100 99 IA : 91 80 88 87 IN : 96 92 100 99 KS : 98 97 99 96 IA : 99 98 100 100 KY : 96 93 97 98 KS : 91 88 100 97 MI : 72 52 99 70 KY : 78 64 90 86 MN : 95 88 98 88 LA : 99 98 100 95 MO : 89 84 92 89 MI : 95 93 100 95 NE : 93 86 94 87 MN : 99 99 98 99 NC : 100 100 100 98 MS : 94 88 97 87 OH : 61 51 95 81 MO : 86 83 98 93 PA : 71 59 90 72 NE : 100 100 100 100 SD : 91 78 92 82 NC : 42 29 31 40 TX : 100 100 100 100 OH : 90 86 100 99 WI : 78 62 94 78 SC : 55 36 24 36 : SD : 100 100 97 99 17 Sts: 88 79 95 87 TN : 59 43 78 78 -------------------------------------- : These 17 States produced 93% of the 19 Sts: 92 89 96 95 1995 corn crop. -------------------------------------- These 19 States produced 94% of the 1995 soybean crop. Winter Wheat: Percent Emerged, Cotton: Percent Harvested, Selected States Selected States -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1991- :-----------------------: 1991- State:Nov 17,:Nov 10,:Nov 17,: 1995 State:Nov 17,:Nov 10,:Nov 17,: 1995 : 1996 : 1996 : 1995 : Avg. : 1996 : 1996 : 1995 : Avg. -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- : Percent : Percent : : AR : 56 46 87 87 AL : 86 82 91 85 CA : 25 15 9 12 AZ : 74 63 74 88 CO : 99 98 98 99 AR : 93 91 99 94 GA : 14 9 25 19 CA : 85 75 81 92 ID : 90 85 91 88 GA : 82 76 81 75 IL : 94 84 96 92 LA : 100 100 100 97 IN : 92 84 96 95 MS : 98 96 100 95 KS : 98 97 94 92 MO : 80 80 95 93 MI : 96 93 97 93 NM : 75 62 64 61 MO : 79 72 84 79 NC : 79 73 71 74 MT : 93 87 90 90 OK : 35 28 31 52 NE : 100 100 100 100 SC : 90 83 69 77 NC : 49 38 41 48 TN : 92 87 88 89 OH : 89 78 98 95 TX : 60 47 58 59 OK : 95 91 82 86 : OR : 91 83 82 87 14 Sts: 77 69 76 76 SD : 100 96 96 99 -------------------------------------- TX : 99 94 75 78 These 14 States produced 99% of the WA : 97 97 94 90 1995 cotton crop. : 19 Sts: 93 89 87 87 -------------------------------------- Sorghum: Percent Harvested, These 19 States produced 92% of the Selected States 1995 winter wheat crop. -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1991- State:Nov 17,:Nov 10,:Nov 17,: 1995 : 1996 : 1996 : 1995 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 100 100 100 100 CO : 87 84 89 77 IL : 80 71 95 94 KS : 94 86 99 89 LA : 100 100 100 100 MS : 100 100 100 100 MO : 88 85 92 91 NE : 88 80 100 96 NM : 45 38 62 62 OK : 83 69 83 79 SD : 95 91 90 94 TX : 94 89 97 95 : 12 Sts: 92 85 97 91 -------------------------------------- These 12 States produced 99% of the 1995 sorghum crop. Winter Wheat: Crop Condition by Percent, Selected States -------------------------------------- State : VP : P : F : G : EX -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 2 12 45 35 6 CA : 0 0 30 40 30 CO : 1 3 21 55 20 GA : 1 1 31 66 1 ID : 0 0 5 63 32 IL : 2 1 19 61 17 IN : 0 4 25 64 7 KS : 0 0 11 74 15 MI : 1 5 38 44 12 MO : 0 4 36 56 4 MT : 0 4 62 32 2 NE : 0 3 28 63 6 NC : 0 1 9 78 12 OH : 0 4 25 58 13 OK : 0 3 18 74 5 OR : 0 0 45 48 7 SD : 1 3 21 63 12 TX : 1 10 37 41 11 WA : 0 2 23 59 16 : 19 Sts : 0 3 23 62 12 : Prev Wk : 0 3 24 61 12 Prev Yr : 2 11 35 47 5 -------------------------------------- Note: US level crop conditions are weighted averages based on 1995 planted acres for the selected states. The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released at 12 P.M. ET on November 26, 1996. 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