HDR1012000170100128971200WEEKLY WEATHER & CROP BULLETIN Released January 28, 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 20-26, 1997 The northern half of the country remained in a winter weather pattern that continued to pressure livestock and feed supplies. The heavier-than-normal feeding will likely result in shortages in many areas by spring. Livestock losses continued to be heavy, and producers are still calculating losses. Dry conditions persisted through the central Great Plains, but little damage to wheat was reported. Pacific storms continued to produce heavy precipitation in central and northern California, resulting in additional flooding in some areas. Many agricultural activities were at a standstill. Florida's freeze damage is still being assessed. Producers were salvaging marketable fruit to limit losses. Vegetable losses were heavy in some areas, especially in southern Florida. National Weather Summary Volume 84, No. 4 January 19 - 25, 1997 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Warm weather returned to Florida after Sunday's freeze, but frigid conditions gripped the North Central States anew after midweek. Farther west, a pair of moisture-laden storms delivered a month's worth of precipitation to central California, causing additional flooding and hampering flood-recovery efforts. Weekly temperatures averaged above normal nationwide except in Florida and the northern Plains, with departures reaching +4 to +12 degrees F on the central and southern Plains and across the Southeast. Generally light precipitation fell from the Midwest into the Northeast, while showers and thunderstorms dropped as much as 1 to 3 inches of moisture on the Southeast. On the central Plains, however, a 2-month dry spell persisted. On Sunday morning, a freeze struck much of Florida, including interior southern sections. In Dade County, lows dipped to 31 degrees F in Homestead and 32 degrees F in Perrine. In southwestern Florida, temperatures were at or below freezing for only 4 hours in Ft. Myers, but for 9 hours (including 4 hours at or below 28 degrees F) at the nearby Southwest Florida Regional Airport. Farther north, lows in central Florida included 24 degrees F near Avon Park, 25 degrees F in Plant City and Daytona Beach, and 26 degrees F in Orlando. By January 25, daily-record warmth returned to Florida, where Miami Beach notched 80 degrees F. Bitterly cold weather prevailed in the Northeast early in the week. On Sunday, Montpelier, VT logged a daily-record low of -27 degrees F. Elsewhere across the region, lows on January 19 included -38 degrees F in Canaan, VT, -30 degrees F in Watertown, NY, and -25 degrees F in Galeton, PA. Farther west, daily-record warmth dotted the central Plains, where Sunday's highs soared to 66 degrees F in Hill City, KS and McCook, NE. A day later, Grand Island, NE noted 67 degrees F. Rain returned to central California, becoming heavy at midweek and again at week's end. At Blue Canyon, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, 16.97 inches fell during the week--more than their January normal of 12.42 inches--boosting their total since December 1 to 77.06 inches, 123 percent of their annual normal. At Incline Village, NV, near Lake Tahoe, weekly snowfall totaled 65 inches. By January 26, a network of more than 100 high-elevation Sierra Nevada stations reported an average of 27 inches of snow-water equivalent, about 160 percent of normal for the date. In California's Central Valley, downtown Sacramento received a daily-record, 2.13-inch rainfall on Wednesday en route to a weekly total of 4.02 inches. Significant snow also fell eastward to the central Rockies and northward to the Cascades. In Utah's Wasatch Range, Alta netted 36 inches during the week. At week's end, heavy snow fell at lower elevations across the West, where Saturday's totals reached 2.7 inches in Boise, ID, 2.9 inches in Pendleton, OR, 5.0 inches in Pocatello, ID, and 7.0 inches in Elko, NV. Farther east, low temperatures plunged to -10 to -35 degrees F across the North Central States after midweek. Combined with gusty winds and snow, occasional ground-blizzard conditions and sub-minus 60 degrees F wind chills again engulfed the region. Very heavy snow blanketed the Great Lakes region. In Marquette, MI, where 28.7 inches fell during the week (including 12.6 inches on Saturday), monthly snowfall reached a January-record 86.7 inches. Elsewhere, weekly snowfall included 4.3 inches in Madison, WI, 5.7 inches in Portland, ME, 6.7 inches in Fargo, ND, and 16.1 inches in Alpena, MI. Farther south, rainfall topped 2 inches in locations such as Lexington, KY, Chattanooga, TN, and Victoria, TX. On Friday, severe thunderstorms spawned several tornadoes across the South, including an F2 (113 to 157 mph winds) with a 10-mile path near Tuscaloosa, AL, and an F4 (207 to 260 mph) with a 6.5-mile path near Murfreesboro, TN. On the Plains, precipitation since December 1, 1996, was as low as 0.03 inch (4 percent of normal) in North Platte, NE, 0.04 inch (4 percent of normal) in Dodge City, KS, 0.07 inch (5 percent of normal) in Concordia, KS, and 0.09 inch (5 percent of normal) in Abilene, TX. Farther north, some of the season's coldest air invaded at week's end. By Sunday, January 27, lows in Minnesota plunged to -43 degrees F in Park Rapids and a daily-record -42 degrees F in International Falls. Hayward, WI recorded -36 degrees F. The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released at 12 P.M. ET on February 4, 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!! 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