Released November 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 Rhonda Brandt at (202) 720-7621, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. National Agricultural Summary November 17 - 23, 1997 Highlights: Dry weather from the Mississippi River westward to the Great Basin provided favorable harvest conditions, but field activity was hindered by precipitaion in the east and along the Pacific Coast. Even though rain fell for the sixth consecutive week in the Southeast and hampered harvest efforts, some farmers harvested cotton and soybeans. Corn growers in the Great Lakes region made good harvest progress between snows. However, in some areas of the eastern Corn Belt, moisture levels were too high and farmers were kept out of fields. Rain along the Pacific Coast limited fieldwork activities but benefited newly planted winter crops. Corn: Harvest of the Nation's corn crop was winding down, with 95 percent (%) of the crop out of the field. This compares with 93% harvested at this time in 1996 and the 5-year average of 90%. Farmers in the Great Lakes States made good harvest progress between snowstorms. In Michigan, growers harvested 18% of their State's crop during the week, catching up to only 3 percentage points behind the average. In Wisconsin, farmers reported that fields were still standing because there was no place to store the grain once it was harvested. However, in other areas of the eastern Corn Belt, wet snow kept moisture levels high and limited harvest activities. In the western Corn Belt, harvest was virtually complete as favorable weather allowed producers to complete their harvest and proceed with fall tillage. Soybeans: Soybean harvest advanced to 96% complete, 2 points ahead of last year but equal to the average. Drier weather allowed growers in North and South Carolina to make rapid harvest progress. In Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee, soybean producers made some progress despite cold, wet weather most of the week. Dampness and below-normal temperatures delayed harvest in Georgia again this week, as even the southern areas of the State recorded freezing temperatures. Harvest in the other major soybean-producing States was winding down under mostly favorable conditions. Cotton: Eighty-five percent of the national cotton acreage was harvested, compared with 83% for both 1996 and the average. Growers in North Carolina and South Carolina made some harvest progress with drier weather. A few Alabama producers harvested some soybean fields, but cold, wet weather hampered harvest in other areas. Showers continued to delay harvest in Georgia, where progress was 14 points behind the normal pace. Cool, dry weather late in the week accelerated harvest in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. In Texas, quality on late fields suffered from recent moisture. Harvest activity increased in the Trans Pecos region, with increased leaf drop from recent freezing temperatures. Sorghum: Sorghum harvest reached 92% complete, behind 94% harvested for both last year and the average. Wet conditions from earlier precipitation and a lack of storage continued to hinder sorghum harvest in western Kansas. Dry, seasonal weather allowed Colorado producers to harvest more of the storm-damaged crop than previously expected. However, harvest progress remained well behind the normal pace. In New Mexico, harvest was almost finished as farmers harvested 14% of their State's crop during the week, 21 points ahead of the normal pace. In Texas, harvest resumed late in the week as freezing temperatures aided drying of later fields. Many producers waited until cotton was harvested before completing sorghum harvest. Winter wheat: The 1998 winter wheat crop was 92% emerged, behind 94% emergence last year but ahead of 91% for the average. Emergence was most active in North Carolina following active plantings the previous week. Nationwide, condition of the winter wheat crop rated mostly good. Conditions in Kansas declined due to a lack of moisture in some areas. In Oklahoma, cool, dry weather restricted wheat growth. Recent snow and rain in the Texas plains benefited dryland wheat fields. However, additional moisture was needed for further development. Late-planted fields showed slow emergence due to cool, wet weather. In Montana, very little wind damage was reported, but farmers were concerned about the lack of snow cover going into winter. The Washington winter wheat crop was mostly in the four to five leaf stage and in good condition. Rainfall in California benefited newly emerged fields. National Weather Summary Volume 84, No. 47 November 16 - 22, 1997 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Cold weather held on for the sixth week in a row in most areas east of the Rockies, while a 6-week wet spell persisted across the Southeast. Dry weather, which developed on the central Plains after the late-October blizzard, continued for the fourth consecutive week. Wet, windy weather returned to the Pacific Northwest after a 2-week break, maintaining the region's autumn pattern of above-normal, but sporadic, heavy rainfall. Weekly temperatures averaged as much as 12 degrees F below normal in the upper Midwest and southern Texas, but up to 4 degrees F above normal in the Northwest. Early in the week, sub-freezing temperatures were recorded as far south as southern Louisiana and Florida's Panhandle. From November 16-18, about three dozen daily-record lows were tied or set, primarily across the Southeast. On Sunday, lows dipped below 0 degrees F in parts of the upper Midwest, where fresh snow enhanced radiational cooling. Brookings, SD notched a daily-record low of -12 degrees F. Farther south, Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX (24 degrees F) also noted a daily record. A day later, the chill shifted into the Southeast, where daily records included 31 degrees F in Pensacola, FL, 29 degrees F in Alexandria, LA, 20 degrees F in Tupelo, MS, and 8 degrees F in Gilbert, AR. On Tuesday, lows of 7 degrees F in Elkins, WV and 23 degrees F in Augusta, GA were among a final flurry of records. In Rochester, MN, daily temperatures averaged at or below normal on 36 of the 41 days from October 13 to November 22, including 21 in a row from November 2-22. A 19-day streak of sub-normal temperatures ended on November 21 in Atlanta, GA, where below-normal temperatures had prevailed on 35 of the previous 38 days (October 14 to November 20). The brief late-week warmup in the Southeast delivered a daily-record high to Savannah, GA (82 degrees F on Saturday), but was capped by a round of severe weather. On Friday, at least a half-dozen tornadic thunderstorms swept across the Gulf Coast region. Farther north, enough cold air lingered over the Northeastern and Great Lakes States to produce another snowfall. On November 21-22, 7.9 inches blanketed Duluth, MN, boosting their monthly snowfall to 16.7 inches. Coastal New England, which was belted by heavy snowfall as the week began, received additional precipitation at week's end. Portland, ME netted 10.2 inches on November 16 and 4.0 inches on November 22, lifting their month-to-date snowfall to 19.7 inches. On Wednesday morning, a powerful low-pressure system, with a central pressure of 29.00 inches (982 millibars), moved northeastward toward the Pacific Northwest. The previous evening, wind gusts along the northern California coast had reached 64 mph in Crescent City and 81 mph on Cooskie Mountain, south of Eureka. A few hours later, gusts topped 70 mph in and near Reno, NV. On November 19, wind gusts along the Oregon coast were clocked to 89 mph in Florence and 80 mph in Newport. Due to the persistent on-shore flow, 8-day (November 16-23) rainfall in western Oregon reached 6.80 inches in Tillamook and 6.15 inches in Florence. In northern California, the town of Mount Shasta collected 6.26 inches during the same period. For the third consecutive week, above-normal temperatures prevailed in Alaska. Departures on the mainland ranged from +6 to +13 degrees F. In contrast, weekly temperatures averaged as much as 3 degrees F below normal in Hawaii, as cool air spilled across the western islands in the wake of a cold front. Corn: Percent Harvested, Soybeans: Percent Harvested, Selected States Selected States -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1992- :-----------------------: 1992- State:Nov 23,:Nov 16,:Nov 23,: 1996 State:Nov 23,:Nov 16,:Nov 23,: 1996 : 1997 : 1997 : 1996 : Avg. : 1997 : 1997 : 1996 : Avg. -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- : Percent : Percent : : CO : 98 92 98 92 AL : 85 72 83 80 GA : 100 100 100 100 AR : 89 81 74 88 IL : 98 96 95 93 GA : 53 44 75 67 IN : 92 87 88 88 IL : 100 99 99 99 IA : 99 96 94 93 IN : 100 99 98 99 KS : 98 95 99 97 IA : 100 99 100 100 KY : 97 93 97 97 KS : 99 95 92 96 MI : 70 52 83 73 KY : 87 77 90 90 MN : 98 97 97 93 LA : 99 99 100 97 MO : 97 93 92 91 MI : 97 93 98 95 NE : 96 91 95 90 MN : 99 99 99 99 NC : 100 100 100 100 MS : 94 90 97 93 OH : 82 72 74 81 MO : 95 90 89 94 PA : 74 66 78 75 NE : 99 97 100 100 SD : 99 98 93 86 NC : 57 33 56 51 TX : 100 100 100 100 OH : 100 100 93 98 WI : 85 70 84 83 SC : 40 20 62 48 : SD : 100 100 100 100 17 Sts: 95 91 93 90 TN : 79 64 67 82 -------------------------------------- : These 17 States produced 92% of the 19 Sts: 96 93 94 96 1996 corn crop. -------------------------------------- These 19 States produced 94% of the 1996 soybean crop. Winter Wheat: Percent Emerged, Cotton: Percent Harvested, Selected States Selected States -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1992- :-----------------------: 1992- State:Nov 23,:Nov 16,:Nov 23,: 1996 State:Nov 23,:Nov 16,:Nov 23,: 1996 : 1997 : 1997 : 1996 : Avg. : 1997 : 1997 : 1996 : Avg. -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- : Percent : Percent : : AR : 74 65 67 76 AL : 86 75 90 89 CA : 20 15 34 23 AZ : 88 82 77 89 CO : 100 99 100 100 AR : 95 88 99 96 GA : 16 13 25 26 CA : 97 95 89 94 ID : 92 90 93 93 GA : 66 59 85 80 IL : 99 98 97 94 LA : 100 99 100 99 IN : 97 93 95 97 MS : 97 95 99 97 KS : 96 94 98 97 MO : 94 86 87 94 MI : 99 99 99 96 NM : 80 70 80 72 MO : 92 84 83 83 NC : 76 63 84 80 MT : 93 91 93 93 OK : 72 *61 40 60 NE : 100 100 100 100 SC : 78 64 92 83 NC : 65 42 58 57 TN : 91 83 95 93 OH : 96 94 92 97 TX : 79 71 68 69 OK : 92 88 97 90 : OR : 85 80 92 93 14 Sts: 85 78 83 83 SD : 100 100 100 99 -------------------------------------- TX : 89 85 100 85 * Revised. These 14 States WA : 99 99 99 95 produced 98% of the 1996 cotton crop. : 19 Sts: 92 89 94 91 -------------------------------------- Sorghum: Percent Harvested, These 19 States produced 92% of the Selected States 1996 winter wheat crop. -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1992- State:Nov 23,:Nov 16,:Nov 23,: 1996 : 1997 : 1997 : 1996 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 100 99 100 100 CO : 35 27 92 84 IL : 97 94 89 94 KS : 91 89 95 91 LA : 100 100 100 100 MS : 100 100 100 100 MO : 96 92 91 93 NE : 97 96 93 96 NM : 98 84 61 77 OK : 80 73 86 85 SD : 98 96 98 97 TX : 95 92 97 98 : 12 Sts: 92 89 94 94 -------------------------------------- These 12 States produced 99% of the 1996 sorghum crop. Winter Wheat: Crop Condition by Percent, Selected States -------------------------------------- State : VP : P : F : G : EX -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 0 4 34 55 7 CA : 0 0 30 50 20 CO : 1 3 20 62 14 GA : 0 11 20 65 4 ID : 0 0 5 87 8 IL : 0 3 23 64 10 IN : 0 5 27 56 12 KS : 0 2 18 64 16 MI : 1 4 36 53 6 MO : 0 2 32 56 10 MT : 3 10 36 50 1 NE : 0 4 25 63 8 NC : 0 0 26 66 8 OH : 1 4 34 49 12 OK : 0 1 15 79 5 OR : 0 0 15 83 2 SD : 0 6 13 55 26 TX : 2 10 40 42 6 WA : 0 0 13 72 15 : 19 Sts : 0 4 23 62 11 : Prev Wk : 1 3 21 64 11 Prev Yr : 0 3 24 62 11 -------------------------------------- The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released at 12 p.m. ET on December 2, 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. 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