HDR1012000170100204971200WEEKLY WEATHER & CROP BULLETIN Released February 4, 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 27 - February 2 Bitterly cold weather eased its grip on the North Central States during the week. Livestock were still under considerable stress and were pressuring the short hay supply. Reports of livestock losses continued to mount. Producers are concerned about the upcoming calving season. An area from Texas to Nebraska continued dry, but the winter wheat is dormant and no significant weather- related damage was recorded. Most of the winter wheat crop is without snow cover. The earlier, heavy rains in California shifted northward to Oregon, where few weather problems were reported. The drier, milder conditions allowed California fields to dry and some harvest activities to resume. In Florida, clear skies and warm weather allowed vegetable fieldwork and replanting to return to schedule. Early and mid orange harvest was very active during the week. Picking crews were rapidly moving damaged fruit to the processors. Grapefruit movement was very active on the east coast. We 1 (2-97) National Weather Summary Volume 84, No. 5 January 26 - February 1, 1997 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Heavy precipitation shifted into the Pacific Northwest, departing California early in the week. Farther east, snow accumulated from eastern Kansas into New England, while rainfall topped 2 inches in the central Gulf Coast region and 1 inch as far north as the Ohio Valley and Northeast. Warm, Pacific-origin air gradually overspread the Nation, but not before several more bitterly cold days across the North Central States and another brush with sub-zero cold for exposed wheat on the central Plains. Late in the week, daily -record warmth appeared on the central Plains, while maxima topped 80 degrees F in parts of Texas. Weekly temperatures averaged 3 to 6 degrees F below normal in the upper Midwest, but surpassed normal by 3 to 6 degrees F in the Southeast and 6 to 10 degrees F in the Southwest. Heavy rainfall persisted into Sunday across northern and central California, where Sacramento measured a daily-record 1.35 inches. Precipitation soaked the Northwest thereafter, resulting in weekly totals of 6.77 inches in Forks, WA and 4.98 inches at Stampede Pass, WA. Farther east, lows on Sunday plunged to daily records in Alpena, MI (-18 degrees F) and International Falls, MN (-42 degrees F). Early-week snowfall included 5.0 inches in Kansas City, MO and 4.6 inches in Moline, IL. In the storm's wake, Kansas City's low plummeted to a daily-record -14 degrees F on Tuesday. Although snow blanketed parts of eastern Kansas, wheat farther west was exposed to daily-record cold in locations such as Russell (-4 degrees F) and Salina (-3 degrees F). Temperatures rebounded quick- ly across Kansas, reaching daily-record levels on Thursday in Colby and Hill City (both 67 degrees F). Farther north, chinook (downslope) winds tore across the Montana Plains at 85 mph in Livingston and 86 mph in Choteau. A day later in Colorado, Pueblo's high soared to a daily-record 76 degrees F. On Friday, the mercury reached 40 degrees F in Minneapolis, MN, their first such occurrence in 75 days, since a high of 49 degrees F on November 17, 1996. At week's end, highs in Texas included 85 degrees F in Dallas and 83 degrees F in Abilene. In Michigan, weekly snowfall totaled 13.6 inches in Alpena, 6.6 inches in Grand Rapids, and 5.0 inches in Marquette, helping to pad or establish January-record totals (55.8, 45.5, and 91.7 inches, respectively). In the Northeast, weekly snowfall included 2.6 inches in Boston, MA, 8.1 inches in Albany, NY, and 13.2 inches in Syracuse, NY. Although only 0.9 inches of snow fell in Fargo, ND, their monthly total (28.6 inches) topped the 20-inch mark for the third consecutive month. Fargo's season-to-date snowfall reached 75.4 inches by month's end, 188 percent of their normal annual total. In eastern Montana, Glasgow closed out their coldest (8.2 degrees F), snowiest (43.3 inches) November-January period on record. In the central Gulf Coast States, 24-hour rainfalls on January 27-28 reached 2.61 inches in Alexandria, LA and 3.15 inches in McComb, MS. Heavy precipitation also overspread southern Alaska, where Kodiak received a daily-record total (1.75 inches, including 10.0 inches of snow) on Monday. Dry weather prevailed across Hawaii, accompanied in eastern sections by temperatures up to 4 degrees F above normal. In Hilo, a high of 92 degrees F on Tuesday represented a January record. 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). 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