HDR1012000170100225971200WEEKLY WEATHER & CROP BULLETIN Released February 25, 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: A strong low-pressure system dumped heavy rains that brought relief to dry wheat fields in northern and central Texas, Oklahoma, and eastern Kansas. The system also brought major flooding to some river basins in Illinois and widespread minor flooding from central Texas to lower Michigan. Warm, dry conditions reduced the snow cover in the northern Great Plains, but the potential for flooding still remained high. Mostly dry conditions allowed fieldwork to progress normally in California and the Southwest. Early fieldwork activities from Texas to Georgia were again hampered by the rainy conditions. Strong winds damaged some crops in southeastern Florida. National Weather Summary Volume 84, No. 8 February 16 - 22, 1997 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: An usually wet February storm drenched areas from central Texas to lower Michigan with 2 to 4 inches of rain. The rainfall ended an 11-week dry spell from central Texas to southeastern Kansas, but caused flooding in other areas that ranged from minor to significant. Severe flooding developed in parts of northern Illinois. Under a "split-flow" regime for the third consecutive week, the Nation experienced above-normal temperatures. Weekly departures ranged from +5 to +15 degrees F from the northern and central Plains to the East Coast. February-record warmth dotted the East at week's end. Despite some reduction of the North Central States' large snow pack, the threat of major spring flooding remained high in the Red and James River basins. Early in the week, a snow-producing storm system crossed the Midwest and Northeast, trailed by a short-lived shot of cold air. Snowfall on Sunday totaled 6.0 inches in Chicago, IL and Erie, PA. Six inches fell in Chatham, MA on February 16-17. In Michigan, Marquette's 6.2-inch accumulation on February 16 pushed their season-to-date snowfall past 200 inches on the earliest date on record. Farther east, cold air lingered until Monday, when Caribou, ME registered a daily-record low of -22 degrees F. Meanwhile in Kansas, Colby notched a daily-record high of 75 degrees F. Despite warm weather in the Northwest, which included daily-record highs of 59 degrees F at both Olympia, WA and Astoria, OR on Sunday, snow cover persisted in some valley locations east of the Cascades. On Tuesday, the snow depth in Yakima, WA remained at an inch or greater for the 92nd consecutive day, second only to a 100-day streak in 1955-56. Farther east, warmth spread into the snow-covered North Central and Great Lakes States. In Marquette, daily-record warmth (52 degrees F) on Tuesday whittled 6 inches from a 43-inch snow depth. Farther south, the high reached 50 degrees F in Madison, WI for the first time since November 17, 1996, while maxima reached daily-record levels in Lincoln (64 degrees F) and Springfield, IL (65 degrees F). Record warmth reached the East at midweek, briefly tempered on Thursday by a cold front that produced wind gusts to 57 mph in Bridgeport, CT and 52 mph in Newark, NJ. About five dozen daily records, including a handful of February records, were set from February 19-22. On Wednesday, highs topped 70 degrees F as far north as Baltimore, MD (72 degrees F). Two days later, February records were broken in New York at Rochester (73 degrees F) and Buffalo (70 degrees F), eclipsing standards that had been set on February 11, 1932. On Saturday, February records were toppled in Albany, NY (68 degrees F) and Vero Beach, FL (89 degrees F). In New Hampshire, Concord's high of 67 degrees F was their warmest in February since 1880. Later on Saturday, however, cooler air swept in on westerly winds that gusted to 70 mph in Rochester and 54 mph in Albany. On February 20-21, rainfall rates reached February-record levels in the Midwest, where runoff was enhanced by partially frozen soils. February-record, 24-hour totals reached 3.05 inches in Grand Rapids, MI and at least 1.91 inches in Moline, IL. Near Moline, the Rock River at Joslin crested at an all-time record 6.77 feet above flood stage on Sunday, February 23. Widespread small-stream and flash flooding affected areas from central Texas to lower Michigan, but most main-stem rivers continued to rise at week's end, with crests expected in late February or early March. In Texas, storm-total rainfall of 2.34 inches in Dallas-Ft. Worth and 2.39 inches in San Angelo padded month-to-date totals to 6.45 inches (364 percent of normal) and 4.40 inches (512 percent of normal), respectively. But in Wichita, KS, a 1.69-inch total accounted for 74 percent of their precipitation since December 1, 1996. Precipitation ended as wet snow in many areas, totaling 3.6 inches on Friday in Kansas City, MO. Heavier snow accumulated farther north, where snowfall at storm's end boosted weekly totals to 21.3 inches in Alpena, MI and 12.8 inches in Caribou, ME. Weekly temperatures averaged 7 to 16 degrees F above normal in Alaska, continuing a 3-week trend, except in western sections. On Friday, the mercury crept above the freezing mark in Fairbanks, ending a 136-day sub-freezing spell, their sixth longest on record. Meanwhile in Hawaii, mostly dry weather prevailed and temperatures averaged 1 to 3 degrees F above normal, including a daily-record high (85 degrees F) in Honolulu on Wednesday. The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released at 12 P.M. ET on March 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!! 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.