HDR1012000170100114971200WEEKLY WEATHER & CROP BULLETIN Released January 14, 1997, 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 January 6 - 12, 1996 HIGHLIGHTS: Sub-zero temperatures and windy conditions over the central and northern Great Plains threatened small grain fields that lacked adequate snow cover. Much below-normal temperatures covered western and central Kansas on January 11-13, where gaps in the snow cover left some winter wheat vulnerable to freeze damage. Wheat in the southern Great Plains however, was unharmed by the chilly weather. Dry weather over the Pacific Coast brought welcomed relief to producers in low-lying areas who were still assessing flood damage. Dry conditions in Florida's citrus belt were diminished by late-week rains, but many groves were still irrigated to maintain good growth. Harvest of the Sunshine State's early- and mid-season citrus was active, while windy conditions stalled some vegetable harvest progress in southern Florida. We 1 (1-97) National Weather Summary Volume 84, No. 2 January 5 - 11, 1997 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Dry, cooler weather arrived in California, allowing flood waters to run their course through the northern San Joaquin and southern Sacramento Valleys. Farther east, more than 2 inches of rain soaked the Southeast, while snow blanketed areas from the Southwest and southern Plains to the Ohio Valley and Northeast. Parts of the southern Plains received their first precipitation since November. Little snow fell on the central Plains, however, leaving some winter wheat unprotected from a late-week cold snap. As sharply colder air overspread areas east of the Rocky Divide after midweek, blizzard conditions again engulfed the North Central States, as wind chills plummeted as low as -60 to -90 degrees F. Downwind of the Great Lakes, squalls dumped locally tremendous amounts of snow. Across the East, warmth lingered for a final day on Sunday. Among the two dozen daily records were highs of 71 degrees F in Washington, DC, 70 degrees F in Charleston, WV, and 66 degrees F in Pittsburgh, PA. Charleston's temperature finally dipped to the freezing mark on January 6 for the first time since December 26, a span of more than 11 days. In contrast, bitterly cold air cloaked Alaska, where McGrath noted their first of three consecutive daily-record lows at -58 degrees F. Two days later, on January 7, a site near Jim River registered -66 degrees F, while Fairbanks' reading of -51 degrees F was their lowest since February 3, 1993. By midweek, a series of storms began to dislodge Alaska's brutal chill. Kodiak tallied daily-record rainfall on Wednesday (1.98 inches) and Thursday (2.10 inches). In Cold Bay, a wind gust to 84 mph was clocked on Wednesday morning, 1 mph shy of their January record. By Friday, McGrath's high of 42 degrees F was a daily record and represented a 100-degree swing from Tuesday's low. Poised to deliver the remnants of Alaska's cold wave, an arctic front punched into the northern Plains at midweek, progressing to the East and Gulf Coasts by week's end. By Friday, highs failed to crack the -10 degrees F barrier as far south as Sioux Falls, SD (-12 degrees F). Although only light snow dusted the northern Plains, strong winds and powder from last week's storm resulted in prolonged blizzard conditions. On Saturday, Sheridan, WY (-31 degrees F) and Billings, MT (-23 degrees F) notched their first of three consecutive daily-record lows. In Missouri, Springfield's high of 6 degrees F was their lowest maximum since December 22, 1990. The center of the arctic high-pressure system crossed the U.S.-Canadian border at week's end with a pressure of 30.95 inches (1,048 millibars). Farther south and east, snow fell in advance of the cold air's arrival. By January 11, monthly snowfall reached 6.9 inches in Amarillo, TX, 8.9 inches in Springfield, MO, and 6.7 inches in Springfield, IL. Precipitation fell for the first time since the last week of November in locations such as Dodge City, KS (0.04 inches), Wichita Falls, TX (0.27 inches), and Oklahoma City, OK (0.38 inches). While snow cover insulated wheat on the southern Plains and in the Ohio Valley, only light precipitation fell in Kansas northwest of a Dodge City-to-Topeka line. Snow spread into the Northeast after midweek, boosting monthly totals to 5.5 inches at Dulles Airport in Virginia, 6.4 inches in Boston, MA, and 18.4 inches in Caribou, ME. Caribou collected a daily-record total (12.5 inches) on Friday. In the Midwest, widespread snow accompanied the cold air's arrival. Snow returned to the southern Plains at week's end. Farther west, early-week snowfall totaled 2.0 inches in Albuquerque, NM and 3.0 inches in El Paso, TX. In the mountains near Tucson, AZ, Mt. Lemmon's snow depth reached 32 inches at midweek. Meanwhile, Great Lake-effect snow showers ended at midweek after dumping as much as 30 inches downwind of Lake Ontario at Montague, NY. However, much more impressive snowfall returned to the Great Lakes region on January 10-13. Montague again hit the jackpot, receiving 91 inches during the event, 40 inches of which fell in 8 hours on Sunday, January 12. Also in New York, Buffalo received 21.4 inches on January 10-11, their fourth greatest 24-hour total. Up to 3 feet fell downwind of Lake Michigan in southwestern Michigan. In the Lake Superior snowbelt, monthly snowfall reached 46.4 inches by January 11 in Marquette, MI. Early- to midweek rainfall in the Southeast resulted in weekly totals of more than 2 inches from the Arklatex to the southern Appalachians. Totals topped 3 inches in locations such as Macon, GA and New Orleans, LA. Although little rain fell in California, many reservoirs remained at or near capacity. As of December 31, 1996, the State's 155-reservoir system contained 139 percent of its normal volume of water for the date, or 80 percent of capacity. The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released at 12 P.M. ET on January 21, 1997. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial status. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA Office of Communications at (202) 720-5881 (voice) or (202) 720-7808 (TDD). To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, USDA, Washington, D.C., 20250, or call (202) 720-7327 (voice) or (202) 720-1127 (TDD). USDA is an equal employment opportunity employer. SUBSCRIBE TODAY!! For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data products, and services: INTERNET ACCESS All NASS reports are now available free of charge on the worldwide Internet. For access, connect to the Internet and select: 1. Worldwide Web: http://www.usda.gov/nass/ OR 2. For Gopher/Telenet/FTP access: HOST=usda.mannlib.cornell.edu OR 3. For a subscription direct to your e-mail address, send an e-mail message to: usda-reports@usda.mannlib.cornell.edu and in the body of the message type the word: list AUTOFAX ACCESS NASSFax service is available for some reports from your fax machine. Please call 202-720-2000, using the handset attached to your fax. Respond to the voice prompts. PRINTED REPORTS OR DATA PRODUCTS CALL OUR TOLL-FREE ORDER DESK: 1-800-999-6779 (U.S. and Canada) Other areas, please call l-703-834-0125 FAX: 1-703-834-0110 (Visa, MasterCard, check, or money order acceptable for payment.) ASSISTANCE For assistance with general agricultural statistics or further information about NASS or its products or services, contact the Agricultural Statistics Hotline at 1-800-727-9540, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, or e-mail: NASS@NASS.USDA.GOV.