Released December 23, 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 December 15 - 21, 1997 Highlights: Dry, warm weather dominated the United States, benefiting livestock and allowing farmers to complete most field crop harvests where crops remained standing. Temperatures were well above normal in the central and northern Plains, promoting growth and development of winter wheat fields. Late-week storms boosted soil moisture supplies in winter wheat fields in the southern Plains. However, dry soils continued in the northern High Plains. Fieldwork along the Pacific Coast was limited by showers and wet soils. Early-week rain interrupted vegetable harvests in Florida, but activity resumed at midweek. Citrus groves, where processors were harvesting at full speed, experienced mild days and cool nights. National Weather Summary Volume 84, No. 51 December 14 - 20, 1997 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Unsettled weather persisted across the Western and Southern States, as storms continued to be steered by the southern branch of a split jet stream. In Texas, an early-week cold spell, including near-freezing temperatures in the lower Rio Grande Valley, yielded to late-week downpours in parts of the State. Farther east, early-week snowfall in parts of Alabama and Mississippi were replaced by late-week highs near 70 degrees F. The northern branch of the split jet remained mostly north of the United States, promoting unusual warmth in the North Central States (8 to 24 degrees F above normal). In contrast, weekly temperatures averaged as much as 6 degrees F below normal in Florida. Early in the week, record warmth arrived on the northern Plains, while cold weather continued across the Gulf Coast States. Sub-freezing temperatures were recorded as far south as southern Texas and northern Florida. On Sunday, heavy snow fell in parts of Mississippi (up to 8 inches in central sections) and Alabama (more than 4 inches in some west-central counties). In Jackson, MS, the 4.8-inch accumulation was their greatest since 5.5 inches fell on January 13, 1982, and the most in December since 7.5 inches fell on December 22, 1929. Farther east, heavy rain continued to plague central and northeastern Florida through Monday. In Jacksonville, FL, 1.54 inches fell on December 15, boosting their month-to-date total to a December-record 9.21 inches. Meanwhile in Tampa, the Hillsborough River crested at a record level at the Morris Bridge gage on Monday, surpassing the September 1988 standard by 0.16 feet. Until cooler air arrived at week's end, more than two dozen daily-record highs were set or tied in the Great Lakes region, upper Midwest, and northern Plains. On Sunday, highs topped the 60-degree mark as far north as Dickinson, ND (61 degrees F), while Rapid City, SD notched 68 degrees F. Daily records were set or tied on 4 consecutive days in International Falls, MN (41, 44, 38, and 37 degrees F) from December 14-17. In Michigan, highs on Monday soared to 59 degrees F in Alpena and 51oF in Marquette, toppling their respective daily records by 13 and 14 degrees. In contrast, Arctic air briefly settled into northern New England, lowering temperatures to -15 degrees F on Monday in Canaan, VT and -14 degrees F a day later in Caribou, ME. Stormy weather briefly returned to the Pacific Northwest, but after midweek, the first in a new series of systems reached southern California after a 10-day respite. Before the pattern change, Eureka, CA posted a daily-record rainfall of 1.80 inches on Sunday. On December 17-18, 24-hour totals across southern California reached 1.76 inches in Torrance and 1.37 inches in Thousand Oaks. Heavy rain erupted across central Texas on Saturday, measuring 7.98 inches in Waco. Waco's total shattered their all-time 24-hour record of 7.18 inches, set on May 11-12, 1953. Other Texas totals for December 20 included 2.52 inches in San Antonio and 2.76 inches in Austin. Meanwhile in Montana, Glasgow's dry spell reached 28 days (November 23 to December 20), their longest since a 31-day such streak in December 1991 - January 1992. Very cold air moved into Alaska during the week, as weekly temperatures averaged as much as 17 degrees F below normal. Bettles recorded a low of -46 degrees F on Tuesday, and Kodiak logged three consecutive daily-record lows (0, 2, and -2 degrees F) from December 15-17. The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released at 12 p.m. ET on December 30, 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's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD). 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. ACCESS TO REPORTS!! For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data products, and services: INTERNET ACCESS All NASS reports are available free of charge on the worldwide Internet. 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