Release December 29, 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. 52 December 20 - 26, 1998 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. HIGHLIGHTS: Freezes struck California's San Joaquin Valley from December 21-25, the most sustained period of cold weather there since December 1990, damaging citrus and vegetables. Less significant freeze effects were observed in citrus and winter vegetable areas of southern California. Meanwhile, bitterly cold weather overspread winter wheat areas of the Ohio Valley, Plains, and Northwest. Much of the Northwest's soft white winter wheat was exposed to near- to slightly below-zero (degrees F) temperatures on five consecutive mornings (December 20-24), raising concerns about potential damage, especially to the portion of the crop that entered dormancy poorly established. Although cold weather burned back unprotected winter wheat in the Ohio Valley and portions of the Plains, snow cover insulated wheat from the most severe cold (-10 to -30 degrees F) in many areas from Montana southward to the central High Plains. Weekly temperatures ranged from 5 to 23 degrees F below normal across the western two-thirds of the Nation. Near-normal readings prevailed in the East, except in Florida, where departures reached +10 degrees F. During the mid- to late-week period, freezing rain and sleet overspread areas from central Texas to the Mid-Atlantic region, causing power outages and disrupting transportation, while stormy but milder weather arrived in the Northwest. The week's only other significant precipitation occurred in the Ohio Valley, where locally heavy rain preceded the early-week arrival of Arctic air. The Arctic outbreak resulted in less than 50 daily-record lows, in part due to similarly timed cold snaps in 1990, 1983, 1968, and earlier. Nevertheless, the San Joaquin Valley endured damaging cold, including an all-time record-tying low of 19 degrees F in Bakersfield on December 23. Temperatures in Bakersfield had previously dipped to 19 degrees F on seven occasions, all during the freezes of December 1929-January 1930, January 1937, and December 1990. In addition, Bakersfield's high of 34 degrees F on Tuesday was their lowest on record, eclipsing a mark that had been established on December 11, 1932. Rare snowfall preceded the arrival of the coldest air across the valley, the most significant such event there since December 20, 1968. Farther north, Eureka, CA reported four daily-record lows from December 20-24, including a minimum (23 degrees F on Monday) that was within 2 degrees F of their monthly record set in 1972. In Nevada, Reno (-3 degrees F on Wednesday) noted their lowest December temperature since 1990. Similarly, Boise, ID (-2 degrees F on Monday) endured their lowest reading since November 24, 1993. Meanwhile, snowfall gradually ended across the Intermountain West, but not before 6.3 inches blanketed Grand Junction, CO on Sunday. The last day more snow fell in Grand Junction was February 4, 1989. Two days later, Grand Junction's minimum of -12 degrees F was their lowest reading since December 24, 1990. In western Montana, lows on Monday plummeted to -39 degrees F in Butte, -43 degrees F in Wisdom, and -45 degrees F in West Yellowstone. Farther east, Wichita, KS (0 degrees F on Tuesday) logged their lowest reading since January 28, 1997. Elsewhere in Kansas, temperatures remained below freezing for 152 consecutive hours (December 19-25) in Topeka, far short of their record of 553 hours in 1983-84. On Monday, Minneapolis, MN registered their first sub-zero temperature in 334 days, just short of their all-time record (337 days) set in 1954-55. The cold outbreak delivered the latest first freeze on record to locations such as Little Rock, AR (26 degrees F on December 21, breaking the 1994 record by 10 days) and New York's Central Park (22 degrees F on December 22, bettering the 1948 standard by 11 days). In Texas, Dallas-Ft. Worth's first freeze (22 degrees F on December 21) was their fourth-latest on record, and latest since December 25, 1965. Although Deep South Texas was spared from a freeze, temperatures on December 26 dipped to 20 degrees F in Hondo and 25 degrees F in Del Rio. We 1 (12-98) Preceding the Arctic blast, more than two dozen locations in the Southeast notched daily-record highs. On Monday, both Savannah, GA and Mobile, AL reported 79 degrees F. A day later, Wilmington, NC logged 80 degrees F, while Huntington, WV recorded 68 degrees F. Warmth continued through week's end in Peninsular Florida, where Miami Beach collected a trio of daily-record highs (83 degrees F on December 24, 25, and 26). Farther north, however, freezing rain glazed areas from central Texas to Virginia and the Carolinas, including areas as far south as the northern portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Greater than 1-inch ice accumulations were received in some areas from northern Mississippi and Tennessee to southeastern Virginia. Sleet was also reported across the South, with some snow along the East Coast. Earlier in the week, as much as 1 to 3 inches of rain pelted the Ohio Valley before briefly changing to snow. Toward week's end, snowfall in the interior Northwest boosted monthly totals to 10.6 inches in Spokane, WA and 8.8 inches in Boise, too late to protect soft white winter wheat from the bitter cold of December 20-24. On Tuesday, the same day that Bakersfield's high reached only 34 degrees F, Barrow, AK, at 71.3 degrees N Latitude, notched a daily-record high of 32 degrees F. Barrow's weekly temperatures averaged 22 degrees F above normal, part of a mild pattern that dominated all of Alaska except southeastern areas. In contrast, cooler-than-normal weather prevailed in Hawaii, resulting in a daily record-tying low (60 degrees F on Saturday) in Hilo. National Agricultural Summary December 21 - 27, 1998 Highlights: The coldest air of the year pushed southward out of western Canada into the western and central United States. Winter wheat fields in the Northwest and eastern Montana had little or no snow cover to protect plants from the bitterly cold and windy weather. Several nights of sub-freezing temperatures damaged citrus crops in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, but southern California citrus escaped major damage. The lemon crop was especially hard hit. Freeze damage to California's vegetable crops was not as severe, but the full extent of losses was still unknown. The cold weather also halted winter vegetable harvest activities. A stormy pattern resumed along the Pacific Northwest coast. Snow early in the week, followed by late-week mild and rainy weather, raised streams to their banks in some areas. The Great Plains and the Corn Belt remained dry. In Texas, mild temperatures aided winter wheat growth, and most fields were providing good forage for grazing. Dry conditions continued to assist harvest efforts as cotton, sorghum, peanuts, and soybeans were virtually complete. Precipitation in the Southeast provided beneficial moisture for winter crops, but freezing rain downed power lines from the central Mississippi Delta to the middle Atlantic States. In Florida, rains eased dryness in the Panhandle, but the remainder of the State remained dry. Vegetable and citrus growers increased irrigation and harvesting continued until late week when many took a break to observe the holiday. Most citrus groves were in good condition, but some were stressed by excessive dryness. The next "Weekly Weather & Crop Bulletin" report will be released after 12 p.m. ET on January 5, 1999. 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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