We 1 (1-00) Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released January 25, 2000, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Weekly Weather and 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 87, No. 4 January 16 - 22, 2000 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Stormy weather continued along and near the West Coast, easing irrigation requirements and easing stress on dryland crops in California's Central Valley, and boosting high-elevation Sierra Nevada snow packs. Beneficial snow showers fell in the Intermountain West as far south as Utah and western Colorado, although a second consecutive week of record warmth in the Southwest exacerbated the region's 4-month dry spell. Weekly temperatures averaged 6 to 20 degrees F above normal from the Intermountain West to the central and southern Plains. The Plains' persistently warm and often dry pattern has reduced winter wheat's cold-hardiness and raised concerns about a lack of moisture for fall-sown grains and the availability of moisture during the upcoming planting season. In contrast, sharply colder air invaded the Great Lakes and Northeastern States, where weekly readings averaged as much as 18 degrees F below normal. As far south as the Ohio Valley, several snow-producing storm systems provided winter grains with protection from temperatures that occasionally fell below 0 degrees F. Late in the week, a major winter storm--the second in 6 days--grazed eastern New England with heavy snow and high winds, while a weaker but more disruptive storm system crossed the South. The latter system glazed the southern Appalachians and adjacent piedmont areas with snow and ice, downing trees, hampering transportation, and causing widespread power outages. Early in the week, a powerful storm system swept across the Pacific Northwest, causing widespread wind damage. On Sunday, peak gusts were clocked to 115 mph at Cannon Beach, OR and 109 mph at Cape Disappointment, WA. Across inland areas of northwestern Oregon, gusts reached 60 mph in Salem and 59 mph in Portland. Farther south, heavy precipitation periodically spread inland across northern and central California, totaling more than 4 inches for the week in the central Sierra Nevada. The water equivalent of the high-elevation Sierra Nevada snow pack, which was 3 inches (about 20 percent of normal) as recently as January 10, increased to 8 inches (more than 45 percent of normal) by week's end. Record warmth shifted southwestward as bitterly cold weather overtook the Nation's northeastern quadrant. Nevertheless, more than 100 daily-record highs were set or tied during the week, primarily across the Southwestern and South-Central States. In Arizona, Winslow noted four consecutive daily-record highs (72, 69, 70, and 66 degrees F) from January 16-19. Warmth peaked on Wednesday across southern Texas, where Del Rio (90 degrees F) recorded their earliest occurrence of 90-degree heat. Del Rio's previous record was set on January 30, 1911, with a high of 91 degrees F. Elsewhere in Texas on January 19, highs soared to 87 degrees F in San Angelo, Abilene, Austin (Mabry), and Corpus Christi. Through the 22nd, Brownsville, TX tallied 15 January days with highs at or above 80 degrees F, their most in January since 16 days in 1972, and approaching the record of 20 days in 1950. In contrast, frigid conditions, accompanied by occasional snowfall and high winds, gripped the Great Lakes and Northeastern States. On Monday morning, Tupper Lake, NY recorded a low of -29 degrees F following a 3-inch snowfall. Similarly, East Albany, NY posted a low of -21 degrees F after Sunday's 5-inch total. In eastern Maine, early-week (January 16-17) snowfall reached 21 inches in Orono and 15 inches in Bangor. Portland, ME received 5.3 inches on January 16, marking their latest first measurable snowfall (formerly December 24, 1912). Following the snow storm, lows in Enosburg Falls, VT included -38 degrees F on Tuesday and -34 degrees F on Wednesday. Another batch of bitterly cold air overspread the Nation's northern tier late in the week. On Friday, LaCrosse, WI noted a low of -20 degrees F, their lowest temperature since a -31 degrees F reading on February 4, 1996. In northeastern Minnesota, minima on January 21 included -37 degrees F in Embarrass and -38 degrees F near Tower. On Saturday, daily-record lows were reported in Flint, MI (-13 degrees F) and Zanesville, OH (-10 degrees F). Farther south, snow fell on Tuesday as far south as the Carolinas, totaling 4.5 inches in Greensboro, NC. Two days later, snow returned to the Mid-Atlantic region. Snowfall totaled 3.0 inches in Norfolk, VA, giving the city its first 1-inch, or greater, snow cover since February 16, 1996. Norfolk had never gone so long, almost 4 years, without a snow cover. Meanwhile, January 20-21 snowfall reached 10 inches in eastern Massachusetts at Eastham. At week's end, ice accumulations topped 1 inch as far south as northern Georgia, while more than 6 inches of snow blanketed higher elevations of the southern Appalachians. Reversing a 3-month trend, significantly milder air overspread nearly all of Alaska, pushing weekly temperatures 3 to 30 degrees F above normal in western and interior sections. Heavy snow accompanied the milder conditions in many areas. January 16-18 snowfall totaled 13.9 inches in Fairbanks and 22.0 inches in Manley. Meanwhile, showery, unusually cool weather (as much as 3 degrees F below normal) prevailed in Hawaii. On Wednesday, maxima of 70 degrees F in Lihue and Kahului were the locations' lowest high temperatures on record for January 19. National Agricultural Summary January 16 - 22, 2000 Highlights: A blast of cold, arctic air pushed southward through the Great Lakes region and into the eastern Corn Belt and Atlantic Coast States. Snow covered most wheat fields in the eastern Corn Belt and protected plants from sub-zero temperatures and dangerous wind chills. Dry weather and record warmth continued in the Great Plains and Southwest. Wheat and oat fields remained green in Texas, although growth slowed as moisture supplies rapidly diminished due to hot weather. Additional precipitation increased topsoil moisture supplies in the southern Appalachians and Piedmont, with lighter precipitation building soil moisture supplies in surrounding areas of the Southeast and Atlantic Coastal Plains. Rain also continued along the coast in the Pacific Northwest and extended southward into central and northern California, where most fieldwork and orchard activities were halted after mid-week. The rain and warm weather stimulated forage growth, especially in northern California. Mostly dry weather continued in Florida and soil moisture supplies remained mostly short and very short. A mid-week cold front pushed over-night temperatures below freezing in many northern and central areas of the State, but frost and freeze damage was minimal. The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released at 12:00 p.m. ET on February 1, 2000. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs 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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