Release December 22, 1998 by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agricultural. For information on "Weekly Weather & Crop Bulletin" call Mark E. Miller at (202) 720-7621, office hours 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. National Weather Summary Volume 85, No. 51 December 13 - 19, 1998 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: A late-week Arctic blast abruptly ended a month-long run of unseasonably mild weather. By week's end, cold air was in place across the northern and central Plains and the Northwest, with even more frigid air poised to spread southward. Light snow blanketed portions of the northern and central Plains prior to the arrival of the coldest air, helping to insulate hard red winter wheat. No snow fell, however, across soft white winter wheat areas of the Northwest, although the crop had achieved dormancy. Warmth in advance of the Arctic intrusion boosted weekly temperatures 4 to 14 degrees F above normal across the Plains and Midwest. Readings averaged as much as 10 degrees F above normal in the Southwest and up to 7 degrees F above normal in the Northwest and Northeast. Near-normal temperatures prevailed from southern Texas to the Southeast. Significant rain was confined to portions of the Southeastern States. From eastern Virginia to the Carolinas, early-week showers eased long-term drought and improved soil moisture for fall-sown crops. Warmth preceding the Arctic blast resulted in more than six dozen daily-record highs, mostly from the West Coast States to the Midwest. On Sunday, Bakersfield, CA posted a daily-record high of 79 degrees F. A day later, highs of 55 degrees F in Minneapolis, MN, 62 degrees F in Dickinson, ND, and 70 degrees F in Valentine, NE were among more than three dozen records. Death Valley (Furnace Creek), CA registered a December-record high of 88 degrees F on the 16th, breaking a record that had stood since December 6, 1927. Elsewhere in California, consecutive daily-record highs were established on December 16-17 at Oakland (78 and 71 degrees F) and downtown San Francisco (71 and 69 degrees F). On the latter date, Miles City, MT (64 degrees F) tallied a daily-record high. In the Midwest and East, a gradual cool-down helped to cold-harden winter wheat and ended some impressive streaks related to lack of snow and cold. On December 16, the season's first trace of snow was observed in Detroit, MI, breaking their record of November 30, 1918 and 1963. Detroit's snow-free period of 267 days (March 24 to December 15), eclipsed their 1946 standard by nearly 2 weeks. Two days later in Indiana, the latest first measurable snowfall on record occurred in Fort Wayne and South Bend. Also on Friday, Atlanta, GA (28 degrees F) marked their latest first freeze, breaking a record set on December 11, 1994. Meanwhile in New York, Albany's high temperature of 30 degrees F and low of 19 degrees F tied records set in 1923 for their latest first occurrences of a sub-freezing maximum and sub-20 degrees F minimum. On Saturday, as Arctic air drove southward through the Plains, temperatures dipped below normal in Sioux Falls, SD for the first time since November 20, ending a 28-day span during which readings averaged 15 degrees F above normal. Omaha, NE (14 degrees F) logged their first sub-20 degrees F low temperature on December 19, shattering a record set on December 13, 1915. Light snow accompanied the sharply colder weather into the Plains, delivering Omaha's first measurable precipitation (0.02 inch on December 20) since November 10. In the Southeast, early-to midweek rainfall totaled more than 2 inches in some locations from eastern Virginia to the Carolinas. Late-week showers produced more than 1 inch in the Arklatex region. In eastern Maine, late-week snowfall totaled a half-foot or more in a few areas, accompanied by wind gusts in excess of 50 mph along the coast. Heavy snow developed across the Intermountain West at week's end in conjunction with the Arctic outbreak. In southern Utah, 24-hour snowfall (December 19-20) included 15 inches in Milford and 11 inches in Richfield. We 1 (12-98) Below-normal temperatures prevailed in most of Alaska, with departures reaching -11 degrees F in western areas. Cold Bay logged a daily-record low (11 degrees F) on Sunday, and Kodiak noted a daily-record snowfall (11.0 inches) on Monday. Nevertheless, milder-than-normal conditions continued on Alaska's North Slope. On Saturday, Prudhoe Bay's daily-record high of 33 degrees F contrasted sharply with highs in western Montana of -10 degrees F in Butte and -8 degrees F in Great Falls. National Agricultural Summary December 13 - 20, 1998 Highlights: A frigid blast of Arctic air pushed southward late in the week, bringing the lowest temperatures of the winter to the Northwest, northern halves of the Rockies and Great Plains, and the western Corn Belt. Most winter wheat fields in the northern Plains had some snow cover, providing some protection from the sudden cold, windy conditions. In the southern Plains, daytime temperatures were warm enough to promote growth until the cold air arrived near the end of the week. The colder weather did not hinder fieldwork, as scattered fertilizing and tillage activities continued in the Great Plains, Corn Belt, Mississippi Delta, and Southeast. In South Dakota, soils were firm enough to allow farmers to harvest most of the remaining corn and sorghum crops. Dry weather also aided harvest efforts in the southern Plains, where a few cotton and sorghum fields remained unharvested. Northern Florida experienced below- freezing readings, but vegetable and fruit crops in central and southern areas of the state were not affected. In California, growers were harvesting vegetables in the Imperial and Coastal Valleys, pruning orchards in the Sacramento Valley, and planting winter wheat and oats in the San Joaquin Valley. Mild temperatures aided winter wheat development in the Sacramento Valley and vegetable crops were developing well in the San Joaquin valley. The next "Weekly Weather & Crop Bulletin" report will be released after 12 p.m. ET on December 29, 1998. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) 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