HDR1012000170100311971200WEEKLY WEATHER & CROP BULLETIN Released March 11, 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. National Agricultural Summary March 3-9, 1997 Highlights: Heavy rains fell in an area from the Texas-Louisiana border through New England and along the Coastal Pacific Northwest, slowing field activities. Warmer-than-normal temperatures over most of the country, except for the West Coast and northern Great Plains, were beneficial for small grains. Temperatures as high as the 70's over the southern one-third of the country were favorable for drying fields and for winter wheat growth. Winter wheat was in generally good condition, with little winter damage reported to date. Spring field activities were increasing rapidly from south Texas across the Gulf Coast States and up the East Coast as weather permitted. Some corn, sorghum, and cotton were seeded in south Texas. Plantings were getting started a little later than normal due to the wet soils. In Florida, conditions were warm and dry for the week, allowing field activities to progress rapidly. The sugarcane harvest was winding down. Grapefruit harvest was very active with excellent quality. Citrus groves were being irrigated and were showing abundant new growth. California field activities progressed rapidly under ideal weather conditions. National Weather Summary Volume 84, No. 10 March 2 - 8, 1997 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Heavy rain fell south of the Ohio River on March 2-3 and again at midweek, hampering flood-recovery efforts and adding runoff to already saturated drainage basins. On March 5, the Ohio River crest passed Huntington, WV, and a day later reached Cincinnati, OH. Wet weather continued to delay fieldwork in the interior Southeast, but dryness persisted in Florida, where temperatures averaged up to 10 degrees F above normal. Dry weather, accompanied by late-week warmth, returned to the central and southern Plains. Meanwhile, cold air trailed early-week snowfall across the North Central States, holding weekly temperatures as much as 10 to 15 degrees F below normal. Farther west, wet weather intensified across the Pacific Northwest, especially from the Cascades westward. Snow fell frequently in the interior Northeast, accumulating heavily on Thursday. After 10.48 inches of rain pelted Louisville, KY on March 1, another 1.87 inches fell during the week. (Louisville's wettest March on record [14.91 inches] occurred in 1964; their wettest month on record, January 1937 [19.17 inches], coincided with the Ohio River flood of record in the region.) Similarly, an additional 3.36 inches drenched Lexington, KY, boosting their monthly rainfall to 8.92 inches. Record crests were reported on several Ohio River tributaries in Kentucky, including Rolling Fork and Licking River. Rolling Fork at Boston crested at about 18.2 feet above flood stage on March 4, eclipsing the February 1989 record. In Falmouth, the Licking River overtopped the flood gauge, cresting at an unprecedented 24 feet (estimated) above flood stage on March 3, surpassing the March 1964 record crest by nearly 5 feet. The Ohio River surged 7.5 feet above flood stage in Huntington, WV, the highest level there since March 1955 and seventh highest on record. The flow of the Ohio River at Cincinnati topped 300 percent of normal as the water climbed 12.7 feet above flood stage, the highest level since March 1964, and ninth highest on record. The broad, flat Ohio River crest edged along the Kentucky-Indiana border at week's end. Early in the week, nearly a dozen daily-record highs were set in the Southeast. On Sunday, maxima included 87 degrees F in Florence, SC and 88 degrees F in Orlando, FL. Meanwhile, chilly weather persisted in the West, where daily-record lows included -3 degrees F on Sunday in Alamosa, CO and 31 degrees F on Tuesday in Eureka, CA. Unwelcomed precipitation returned to the North Central States on Monday, lifting weekly snowfall to 16.2 inches (1.14 inches of liquid) in Fargo, ND, 8.2 inches in Grand Forks, ND, and 4.9 inches in Minneapolis, MN. Fargo's seasonal snowfall reached 99.6 inches, shattering their record of 89.1 inches, set in 1993-94. In addition, Fargo notched a daily-record low (-22 degrees F) at midweek. Farther south, Little Rock, AR received a daily-record 2.28 inches of rain on Wednesday. Monthly rainfall through March 5 totaled 5.15 inches in Little Rock, 104 percent of their normal March value. Very warm weather lingered across Florida, where Jacksonville's reading of 87 degrees F on March 5 marked their warmest of three consecutive daily-record highs. On Thursday, a storm system intensified over New England, sparking heavy snow and strong winds. In Maine, Caribou received 18.1 inches of snow on March 6. Elsewhere across the Northeast, the storm helped to push weekly snowfall to 13.9 inches in Rochester, NY and 12.3 inches in Burlington, VT. Meanwhile, winds gusted to 59 mph in Newark, NJ, 60 mph at New York's Kennedy Airport, and 61 mph in Bridgeport, CT. Farther west, warmth spread onto the Plains at week's end. On Saturday in Colorado, Pueblo's high rebounded to 72 degrees F from a low of 16 degrees F. Kearney, NE (70 degrees F) logged a daily-record high. Stormy weather continued in the Northwest, however, where monthly precipitation through March 8 reached 4.53 inches (228 percent of normal) in Astoria, OR and 2.49 inches (247 percent) in Seattle, WA. 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