HDR1012000170100122971200WEEKLY WEATHER & CROP BULLETIN Released January 22, 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 13 - 19, 1997 HIGHLIGHTS: High winds bitter temperatures and blowing snow combined to make farming and ranching activities difficult in the Great Plains and Midwest. The harsh winter conditions stressed livestock and placed additional pressure on feed supplies. In the Dakotas some producers were having problems with cattle isolated from feed supplies. Local road closings caused some dairy farmers to dump milk. The blowing snow and low temperatures left winter grains vulnerable to damage. Weather related transportation problems hindered movement of grain and livestock to markets. River barge traffic was hampered and some meat packing operations in the Midwest operated at low volume. Temperatures in the twenties were recorded as far South as Central Florida. Generally, temperatures were not low enough, long enough to cause serious damage to citrus trees. However, there was fruit icing in many areas of the State. Varying amounts of damage to Southern Florida vegetable crops was caused by the cold temperatures with significant damage reported in some areas. National Weather Summary Volume 84, No. 3 January 12 - 18, 1997 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Cold air overspread the Nation in two stages, perpetuating harsh conditions across the North Central States, stressing unprotected winter wheat on the central Plains, and delivering late-week freeze damage to crops in Peninsular Florida. Snow cover protected winter wheat from the cold elsewhere on the Plains and in the Ohio Valley. Despite a late-week warm-up, weekly temperatures averaged 10 to 20 degrees F below normal between the Rockies and Appalachians. Farther west, rain returned to flood-stricken areas of California, but much more significant precipitation fell across the Northwest and Southwest. Widespread ice and snow accumulated from Texas and Louisiana into the Midwest. Rain dampened the East, while in the Great Lakes region, record-setting snow squalls continued. In Florida, warm weather and locally heavy rain preceded a late-week cold snap. Early in the week, a major snowstorm buried mountain areas of the Southwest, while more than an inch of ice glazed parts of southeastern Texas and Louisiana. By Monday afternoon, snow depths in southern California reached 22 inches in Idyllwild and 18 inches atop Mt. Laguna. Up to 3 feet blanketed Mt. Charleston, near Las Vegas, NV. In Utah, 48-hour (January 12-14) snowfall totaled 38 inches in Monticello. Flagstaff, AZ netted 30.8 inches during the January 12-14 storm, their greatest single-storm total since 31.5 inches fell on February 28 - March 2, 1991. Bitterly cold air resulted in more than three dozen daily-record lows across the Nation. On Sunday, minima dipped to -35 degrees F in Sheridan, WY and -30 degrees F in Billings, MT. A day later, daily records included -20 degrees F in Yuma, CO and -17 degrees F in Goodland, KS. In Colorado, Denver's temperatures remained below 0 degrees F for about 60 hours (January 11-14), their longest such streak since December 1990. The temperature in Lubbock, TX remained below 32 degrees F for 129 consecutive hours (January 10-15), their longest sub-freezing spell since January 1988. Elsewhere in Texas, Brownsville's high struggled only to 33 degrees F on Monday, following a low of 30 degrees F. Enough cold air oozed west of the Rockies to chill the West Coast States. In California, downtown Sacramento's freeze on Monday was their first since December 9, 1994. A day later, Redding recorded 19 degrees F. In contrast, temperatures averaged 10 to 26 degrees F above normal over mainland Alaska. Nome notched daily-record highs on Sunday (43 degrees F), Tuesday (39 degrees F), and Wednesday (37 degrees F). But over the Lower 48, a second wave of cold air spilled southward late in the week. By Friday, daily-record lows were noted in locations such as Aberdeen, SD (-32 degrees F), Atlantic, IA (-22 degrees F), and Chanute, KS (-7 degrees F). In advance of the cold front, highs soared on January 15-16 in Florida, where West Palm Beach (85 degrees F) logged consecutive daily records. Heavy rain dotted southeastern Florida, where Ft. Lauderdale received an all-time-record, 24-hour total of 5.82 inches on January 13-14. By week's end, however, sub-freezing conditions reached central and interior southern Florida, resulting in freeze durations of 1 to 9 hours on January 18-19. Scattered citrus and ground-crop locations reported temperatures at or below 28 degrees F for up to 4 hours, causing locally significant damage to the latter. Lows on Sunday (January 19) included 26 degrees F in Orlando, 27 degrees F in Ruskin, 29 degrees F in Leesburg, 31 degrees F in Winter Haven, and 31 degrees F in Ft. Myers. The Tuolumne River finally fell below flood stage near Modesto, CA early in the week. Precipitation returned to the region on January 12, totaling 0.82 inches during the week in Blue Canyon, CA. In the Pacific Northwest, more than 4 inches of rain pelted Quillayute, WA. Farther east, weekly snowfall totaled 3.9 inches in Amarillo, TX, 4.0 inches in St. Louis, MO, and 4.2 inches in Dubuque, IA. Lake-enhanced totals included 14.7 inches in Grand Rapids, MI and 16.5 inches in South Bend, IN. In New York, 77 inches of Montague's 91-inch lake-effect storm total fell in 24 hours on January 11-12, tentatively breaking the U.S. record of 76 inches, set at Silver Lake, CO, in April 1921. At week's end, warmer air spread eastward across the Nation, while bitterly cold air shifted into the East. On Saturday, Olympia, WA tallied a daily-record high of 59 degrees F. A day later (January 19), St. Louis' temperature topped the freezing mark for the first time since January 5. The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released at 12 P.M. ET on January 28, 1997. 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