HDR1012000170100422971200WEEKLY WEATHER & CROP BULLETIN Released April 22, 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 April 14-20, 1997 HIGHLIGHTS: A warming trend brought seasonal temperatures to the western half of the United States, but temperatures in the East remained below normal. Farmers and ranchers in the Red River Valley battled rising flood waters. Moving livestock to dry ground, feeding livestock, and removing carcasses were high priorities as flooding further delayed fieldwork in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. The southern Plains experienced below-freezing temperatures early in the week but warmed to over 80 degrees by week's end. Low temperatures and frost in the Southeast slowed planting progress and crop development. Late-week heavy rains fell in the Northwest, slowing planting of spring crops. Wet snow fell in New England as a late-week storm with high winds moved across the northern Atlantic coast. Beneficial showers fell in Florida, although some local areas remained dry. An area extending from the Florida Panhandle northward to North Carolina received scattered showers, but overall remained dry as it has for several weeks. Winter Wheat: The condition of the Nation's winter wheat crop declined significantly from last week but remained mostly good to fair. Nine percent (%) of the crop was headed, compared with 6% last year at this time, and the 5-year average of 8 %. Farmers and agronomists were in fields throughout the southern Plains evaluating the effects of last week's freeze, but the full extent of the damage remains unknown. In Kansas, the freeze damage was mostly in southern areas where more wheat was jointed and snow cover was lacking. Damage reports in Oklahoma vary from light to moderate in northern areas to moderate to severe in southern areas. Many producers in Texas have stopped irrigation operations until damage is more evident. Georgia also reported significantly lower wheat condition as dry, windy, cold weather and insects stressed the crop. Corn: Corn planting advanced to 7% complete as growers in Illinois, Kentucky, and North Carolina made good progress. Last year, planting was 9% complete, and on average, 7% of the crop is in the ground. Corn planting progressed well in central Illinois, but cool soils in the south and wet soils in the north allowed only limited planting. Corn planting accelerated late in the week as warmer weather moved into the remainder of the Corn Belt. Cotton: Nationwide, cotton planting was 14% complete, 1 percentage point ahead of last year, but 1 point behind the average. Cotton planting in Arizona and New Mexico continued rapidly as warm, dry weather prevailed. Some cotton fields in California had to be replanted due to earlier wind storms. Some planting occurred in central and north-central Texas. Planting in the other major cotton-producing States was behind normal because of cold or wet weather. Rice: Rice seeding progressed to 25% complete, 7 points behind last year, and 9 points behind the average. Planting and growth were slowed by cool weather in Louisiana. Rice growers in Mississippi made good progress despite lower than normal temperatures. Planting in Texas remained well behind normal. However, growers made some progress early in the week. Other Small Grains: Spring wheat planting was 3% complete, just 1 % behind 1996 but well behind the average. No spring wheat was planted in the Dakotas or Minnesota because of flooding and wet fields. Farmers in Idaho and Montana seeded some spring wheat, but progress was still behind normal. Planting in all major barley-producing States was behind normal because of continued wet weather and flooding. Barley planting reached 8% complete, equaling planting at this time 1 year ago, but well behind the average of 18%. Seeding of oats progressed to 21% complete, compared with 20% in 1996 and the average of 24%. Growers in the eastern Great Lakes and western Corn Belt made good progress, while growers in the Dakotas were kept out of wet fields. We 1 (4-97) Other Crops: Sorghum planting progressed to 16%, behind both the 18% last year and average of 19%. Planting operations increased in central Texas during the week. Lower-than-normal temperatures in the Southeast caused peanut-planting progress to lag behind normal levels. As of April 20, planting was 3% complete, 1 point behind 1996, and 3 points behind the average. National Weather Summary Volume 84, No. 16 April 13 - 19, 1997 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Dry weather encompassed much of the Nation, favoring fieldwork and planting, although coolness persisted across the eastern half of the Nation. Unfavorably dry conditions persisted for a seventh consecutive week in parts of the Southeast. Despite dry weather in the Red and middle James River basins, record flooding continued, aggravated by snowmelt from the early-April blizzard. Exceptions to the dry pattern occurred in the Northwest and Northeast. Heavy rain also fell in the lower Rio Grande Valley. On the central and southern Plains, temperatures rebounded from the wheat-damaging freeze on April 11-13 into the 80's by week's end. However, a second shot of cool air helped to hold weekly temperatures 5 to 13 degrees F below normal from the western Gulf Coast into the Midwest and Southeast. Temperatures averaged up to 7 degrees F above normal in the West. Early in the week, cold air shifted eastward, but not before delivering more than 50 additional daily-record lows. In Texas, Abilene's minimum of 27 degrees F on Sunday was their lowest so late in the spring. Dallas-Ft. Worth notched 32 degrees F, tying a 1957 record for their latest spring freeze. Elsewhere on the Plains, lows on Sunday included -2 degrees F in Scottsbluff, NE, 10 degrees F in Tribune, KS, and 23 degrees F in Amarillo, TX. A day later, San Angelo, TX (27 degrees F) noted their latest sub-28 degree reading, while temperatures dipped to 32 degrees F in Tupelo, MS and Camden, AR. By Tuesday, the chill shifted into the East, where lows fell to 28 degrees F in Asheville, NC and at Virginia's Dulles Airport. Meanwhile in California, maxima of 78 degrees F in San Francisco and 85 degrees F in San Jose were the locations' highest of the year-to-date. Beneficial showers preceded and accompanied a cold front's trek across Florida, highlighted by a daily-record rainfall of 1.31 inches in Melbourne on Wednesday. In Georgia, however, March 1 - April 19 precipitation totaled only 1.34 inches (19 percent of normal) in Macon, 2.41 inches (30 percent) in Athens, and 2.84 inches (42 percent) in Augusta. Farther north, the Red River crest passed Wahpeton, ND (9.2 feet above flood stage) on April 15, reaching Grand Forks, ND (about 26.0 feet above flood stage) 6 days later. In Fargo, ND, the river reached its highest level this century, topping the April 1969 level by 2.2 feet, but fell 0.6 feet shy of its April 1897 high-water mark. The level in Grand Forks shattered the April 1979 record by an astounding 5.2 feet, overtopping many flood barriers and forcing the evacuation of nearly the entire city. Meanwhile, major flooding continued along the James River, including a late-week record crest (7.1 feet above flood stage, breaking the April 1969 record) near Columbia, SD. Late in the week, the second "nor'easter" in 2 weeks pounded the Northeast, while wet weather overspread the Northwest. More than 2 inches of rain fell from eastern Massachusetts to southern Maine, and more than a foot of snow blanketed parts of the interior Northeast. Totals included 17 inches in East Jewett, NY and 14 inches in South Woodstock, VT. On April 18, 8.5 inches fell in Burlington, VT, their greatest 1-day total so late in the spring. In eastern New England, wind gusts on Saturday reached 87 mph in Nantucket, MA, 51 mph in Boston, MA, and 48 mph in Providence, RI. The storm drew cool air into the Southeast, resulting in nearly three dozen daily-record lows on April 18-19. On Friday, lows bottomed out at 33 degrees F in Atlanta, GA, and Jackson, MS. A day later, lows in Florida included 41 degrees F in Melbourne and 42 degrees F in Lakeland. Meanwhile in Washington, Spokane netted a 1-day, April-record rainfall of 0.96 inches on Saturday. Throughout the Northwest, rainfall and snowmelt runoff combined to produce minor flooding. Farther south, wet weather continued in southern Texas. In Brownsville, measurable rain fell on 11 of the first 17 days of the month, boosting their rainfall since March 1 to 10.59 inches (790 percent of normal). Corn: Percent Planted, Winter Wheat: Percent Headed, Selected States Selected States -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1992- :-----------------------: 1992- State:Apr 20,:Apr 13,:Apr 20,: 1996 State:Apr 20,:Apr 13,:Apr 20,: 1996 : 1997 : 1997 : 1996 : Avg. : 1997 : 1997 : 1996 : Avg. -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- : Percent : Percent : : CO : 5 2 18 6 AR : 41 26 14 23 GA : 90 89 84 86 CA : 90 70 87 82 IL : 12 2 12 6 CO : 0 0 0 0 IN : 5 1 3 3 GA : 89 78 36 56 IA : 0 0 2 3 ID : 0 0 0 0 KS : 6 4 21 14 IL : 0 0 0 0 KY : 26 10 11 20 IN : 0 0 0 0 MI : 0 0 0 0 KS : 0 0 0 0 MN : 0 0 0 2 MI : 0 0 0 0 MO : 17 13 40 21 MO : 2 0 0 1 NE : 0 0 3 3 MT : 0 0 0 0 NC : 60 32 56 52 NE : 0 0 0 0 OH : 6 2 2 3 NC : 21 10 9 17 PA : 1 0 0 0 OH : 0 0 0 0 SD : 0 0 0 0 OK : 16 7 5 19 TX : 57 50 60 60 OR : 0 0 0 0 WI : 0 0 0 0 SD : 0 0 0 0 : TX : 25 14 25 24 17 Sts: 7 4 9 7 WA : 0 0 0 0 -------------------------------------- : These 17 States produced 90% of the 19 Sts: 9 5 6 8 1996 corn crop. -------------------------------------- These 19 States produced 92% of the 1996 winter wheat crop. Cotton: Percent Planted, Spring Wheat: Percent Planted, Selected States Selected States -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1992- :-----------------------: 1992- State:Apr 20,:Apr 13,:Apr 20,: 1996 State:Apr 20,:Apr 13,:Apr 20,: 1996 : 1997 : 1997 : 1996 : Avg. : 1997 : 1997 : 1996 : Avg. -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- : Percent : Percent : : AL : 15 9 19 20 ID : 51 40 60 58 AZ : 63 49 74 56 MN : 0 0 2 9 AR : 2 0 3 3 MT : 5 1 2 19 CA : 70 50 41 46 ND : 0 0 0 5 GA : 9 5 4 9 SD : 1 1 8 28 LA : 3 0 4 9 : MS : 3 1 2 8 5 Sts : 3 2 4 13 MO : 0 0 1 1 -------------------------------------- NM : 37 15 18 27 These 10 States produced 96% of the NC : 4 2 3 4 1996 spring wheat crop. OK : 0 0 0 1 SC : 6 4 5 6 TN : 0 0 1 3 Rice: Percent Planted, TX : 12 7 15 16 Selected States : -------------------------------------- 14 Sts: 14 9 13 15 : Week Ending : -------------------------------------- :-----------------------: 1992- These 14 States produced 99% of the State:Apr 20,:Apr 13,:Apr 20,: 1996 1996 cotton crop. : 1997 : 1997 : 1996 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent Sorghum: Percent Planted, : Selected States AR : 19 8 21 32 -------------------------------------- CA : 1 0 0 0 : Week Ending : LA : 61 53 64 57 :-----------------------: 1992- MS : 55 26 46 40 State:Apr 20,:Apr 13,:Apr 20,: 1996 TX : 12 6 69 54 : 1997 : 1997 : 1996 : Avg. : -------------------------------------- 5 Sts : 25 16 32 34 : Percent -------------------------------------- : These 10 States produced 96% of the AR : 24 21 24 26 1996 rice crop. CO : 0 0 0 0 IL : 0 0 0 0 KS : 0 0 0 0 LA : 19 17 34 22 MS : 39 22 46 33 MO : 1 0 3 3 NE : 0 0 0 0 NM : 0 0 0 0 OK : 2 0 2 3 SD : 0 0 0 0 TX : 43 37 49 54 : 12 Sts: 16 13 18 19 -------------------------------------- These 12 States produced 99% of the 1996 sorghum crop. Barley: Percent Planted, Peanuts: Percent Planted, Selected States Selected States -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1992- :-----------------------: 1992- State:Apr 20,:Apr 13,:Apr 20,: 1996 State:Apr 20,:Apr 13,:Apr 20,: 1996 : 1997 : 1997 : 1996 : Avg. : 1997 : 1997 : 1996 : Avg. -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- : Percent : Percent : : ID : 30 21 36 46 AL : 5 2 3 7 MN : 0 0 0 5 FL : 3 0 4 NA MT : 6 2 2 23 GA : 4 3 6 10 ND : 0 0 0 4 NC : 0 0 0 0 SD : 0 0 3 22 OK : 0 0 0 0 WA : 34 22 37 57 SC : 11 10 7 8 : TX : 0 0 4 1 6 Sts : 8 5 8 18 VA : 0 0 0 1 -------------------------------------- : These 6 States produced 82% of the 8 Sts : 3 2 4 6 1996 barley crop. -------------------------------------- These 8 States produced 99% of the 1996 peanut crop. Oats: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1992- State:Apr 20,:Apr 13,:Apr 20,: 1996 : 1997 : 1997 : 1996 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : IA : 53 38 57 57 MI : 24 18 2 4 MN : 3 0 2 11 NE : 54 38 76 59 ND : 0 0 0 4 OH : 63 46 26 28 PA : 48 35 21 27 SD : 1 1 11 27 WI : 8 1 4 10 : 9 Sts : 21 14 20 24 -------------------------------------- These 9 States produced 56% of the 1996 oat crop. Winter Wheat: Crop Condition by Percent, Selected States -------------------------------------- State : VP : P : F : G : EX -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 3 20 48 25 4 CA : 0 5 10 50 35 CO : 4 12 31 46 7 GA : 7 14 36 40 3 ID : 1 4 17 60 18 IL : 1 4 21 61 13 IN : 2 7 34 49 8 KS : 5 17 38 37 3 MI : 4 9 32 32 23 MO : 0 9 33 46 12 MT : 1 14 44 36 5 NE : 1 9 33 50 7 NC : 0 2 24 68 6 OH : 3 12 39 37 9 OK : 16 8 34 38 4 OR : 0 1 18 71 10 SD : 9 22 31 34 4 TX : 10 20 38 27 5 WA : 0 8 43 48 1 : 19 Sts : 6 13 35 40 6 : Prev Wk : 1 8 28 53 10 Prev Yr : 18 27 27 23 5 -------------------------------------- Note: US level crop conditions are weighted averages based on 1996 planted acres for the selected states. The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released at 12 P.M. ET on April 29, 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) 720-2791. To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, USDA, Washington, D.C., 20250, or call 1-800-245-6340 (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.