HDR1012000170100219971200WEEKLY WEATHER & CROP BULLETIN Released February 19, 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 February 17-23, 1997 Highlights: Below-normal temperatures continued in portions of the central and northern Plains. Precipitation was light, allowing producers to take measures to combat further losses from winter stress on livestock. With heavy snow cover, the potential for spring flooding is a concern. High water has been reported in local areas. An area from the Texas Panhandle to the Dakotas was without precipitation during the week and dry areas were developing on the central Plains. Heavy rains fell from central Texas to the Carolinas, delaying early field preparations. The sugarcane harvest was active in Florida. Most harvesting of vegetables damaged by the January freeze was nearing an end. The early and mid orange harvest was winding down. Field activities in California were in full swing in most areas. Some localized areas remained flooded, but the warm, dry weather allowed soils to dry and field operations to resume. National Weather Summary Volume 84, No. 7 February 9 - 15, 1997 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Back-to-back storms traversed the Southeast, boosting weekly rainfall above 2 inches from eastern Texas to the Carolinas. The first storm also deposited snow in a narrow band from the southern Plains into the Northeast. While moving ashore in the Northwest, the latter system delivered heavy precipitation, especially west of the Cascades. Late in the week, generally light snow spread from the Midwest into the Northeast. Due to the continuation of a "split" polar jet stream, bitterly cold air barely brushed the Nation's northern tier for the second week in a row. Nevertheless, weekly temperatures averaged up to 9 degrees F below normal across the snow-covered upper Midwest. Readings ranged from 3 to 8 degrees F below normal along the primary storm track across Texas and the Southeast. A minor storm system crossed the Southeast early in the week, dropping light precipitation. On Monday, snowfall totaled 1.2 inches in Wilmington, NC. More significant precipitation developed across the South Central States at midweek. In Texas, daily-record rains pelted Waco (3.97 inches), Lufkin (3.32 inches), and Dallas-Ft. Worth (2.90 inches) on February 12. Farther west, snowfall totaled 3.8 inches in Lubbock and 1.0 inch in Midland. By Thursday morning, 4 inches of snow blanketed Little Rock, AR. Snow and freezing rain spread into the Northeast by Friday, boosting weekly accumulations to 7.9 inches in Binghamton, NY, 5.3 inches in Williamsport, PA, and 3.1 inches in Concord, NH. Farther west, several disturbances rippled across the Midwestern and Great Lakes States, producing light snow. Weekly totals reached 4.5 inches in Sioux Falls, SD, 6.2 inches in Cedar Rapids, IA, and 6.8 inches in Moline, IL. Another 7.2 inches fell in Marquette, MI, raising their seasonal total to 197.4 inches, more than 2 feet ahead of last year's record-setting pace. The second storm immediately trailed the first, leaving a daily-record snowfall (2.5 inches) in Alamosa, CO on Thursday. Meanwhile, an arctic airmass grazed Michigan, lowering temperatures to daily-record levels in Alpena (-19 degrees F) and Houghton Lake (-22 degrees F). A day later, rain soaked the Southeast for the second consecutive day, including a daily-record total (1.45 inches) in Florence, SC. Warmth overspread Florida in advance of the storm's cold front, producing daily records on Friday in Orlando (88 degrees F) and Ft. Myers (89 degrees F). At week's end, a surge of warm air reached the West Coast, where Hanford, WA (62 degrees F) tallied a daily-record high. In Alaska, weekly temperatures averaged 3 to 14 degrees F above normal. Among the locations noting daily-record highs were Yakutat (45 degrees F on Sunday), Cold Bay (42 degrees F on Monday), and King Salmon (42 degrees F on Saturday). Meanwhile, warm, generally dry weather prevailed across Hawaii for the third consecutive week. The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released at 12 P.M. ET on February 25, 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.