We 1 (11-00) Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released November 28, 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. 48 November 19 - 25, 2000 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Heavy rain returned to the South after mid-week, capping a month of fieldwork delays and long-term drought recovery. More than 2 inches of rain soaked areas from southeastern Oklahoma and eastern Texas to western Alabama, while at least 4 inches fell from the Arklatex to the northern Delta region. Significant rain also dampened the previously dry southern Atlantic region, although much of Florida's peninsula remained unfavorably dry. Farther north, rain and snow provided beneficial moisture in winter wheat areas of the eastern Corn Belt. Meanwhile, only light precipitation dampened the southern High Plains, where cool, damp conditions have hampered winter wheat planting and emergence, and cotton and peanut harvesting. Milder weather returned to northern and central High Plains, melting some of the region's protective snow cover. Late-week temperatures also rebounded to near- or above-normal levels elsewhere across the Nation, following an impressive early-season cold wave. Due to the cold spell, however, weekly temperatures averaged 7 to 15 degrees F in the Midwest and much of the East. Locally heavy snow squalls accompanied the cold weather in the Great Lakes region. Lingering cold weather in the Pacific Northwest held temperatures as much as 10 degrees F below normal, while chinook (downslope) winds boosted temperatures up to 8 degrees F above normal in northern Montana. Sub-freezing temperatures in the lower Southeast and California's San Joaquin Valley may have adversely affected some tender winter vegetables. Below-freezing readings (as low as 27 degrees F) were also noted in southern Louisiana's sugarcane region, where harvest was slightly more than one-half completed. Temperatures remained above the freezing mark, however, in Florida's citrus belt. Early in the week, cool weather lingered in the West, where daily-record lows on Sunday included 11 degrees F in Winslow, AZ, 20 degrees F in Eugene, OR, and 30 degrees F in Santa Barbara, CA. In Phoenix, AZ, below-normal temperatures prevailed on 30 consecutive days from October 22 - November 20. Phoenix also noted 20 consecutive days (from October 31 - November 19) with high temperatures below 70 degrees F, tying their October-November record established from November 11-30, 1931. Meanwhile, rain and snow spread across the Southeast. In South Carolina, Charleston noted a daily-record rainfall (1.44 inches) on November 19, while Greenville-Spartanburg set a November-record snowfall (2.5 inches). Charlotte, NC also noted 2.5 inches of snow, tying their November 1968 record. Sharply colder air arrived east of the Rockies by midweek. On Tuesday, St. Cloud, MN posted a daily-record low of -3 degrees F. A day later, more than 20 daily-record lows were set or tied across the South, including 12 degrees F in Bristol, TN, 18 degrees F in Charlotte, NC, 21 degrees F in Montgomery, AL, and 27 degrees F in Baton Rouge, LA. In northern Florida, lows dipped to 23 degrees F in Tallahassee and 25 degrees F in Jacksonville. Chilly weather lingered into Thursday morning across Peninsular Florida, where Daytona Beach (34 degrees F) tallied a daily record-tying low. Bitterly cold air settled into the Northeast toward week's end, resulting in a November record-tying low of -8 degrees F (on November 24) in Massena, NY. Also on Friday, Worcester, MA registered a maximum of 26 degrees F, their lowest high temperature in November since 1989. Heavy snow squalls developed downwind of the Great Lakes, burying Buffalo, NY under 24.9 inches on Monday. Buffalo's only greater 24-hour snowfall totals occurred in December 1995 (37.9 inches) and January 1982 (25.3 inches). On the same day in Michigan, Marquette received 17.0 inches, while Grand Rapids (11.5 inches) experienced their snowiest November day on record. Grand Rapids' month-to-date snowfall reached 21.3 inches, their fourth-snowiest November on record and snowiest since 1991. Heavy rain returned to the South after midweek, boosting November 1-25 rainfall totals to greater than 10 inches in numerous locations, including Galveston, TX (14.24 inches), Lake Charles, LA (11.59 inches), and Little Rock, AR (11.16 inches). In Louisiana, New Orleans' total of 11.72 inches marked their fifth-highest November total and wettest November since 15.27 inches fell in 1992. In Texas, San Antonio's month-to-date rainfall of 8.58 inches represented their highest November total since 9.16 inches fell in 1874. In contrast, mostly dry weather persisted across southern Florida, where November 1-25 rainfall totals included a trace in Ft. Myers and 0.47 inch in Ft. Lauderdale. On Saturday, however, a localized downpour struck West Palm Beach, resulting in a daily-record rainfall of 5.16 inches. Meanwhile in Seattle, WA, a 13-day spell (November 10-22) without measurable precipitation ended on Thursday. The streak represented Seattle's third-longest dry spell on record during their November-February peak precipitation period. Despite the rain, Seattle's November 1-25 rainfall stood at 1.84 inches, or 38 percent of normal. In Hawaii, warm, mostly dry weather prevailed. Alaska also experienced warmer-than-normal conditions, accompanied by additional heavy precipitation across southern areas. Weekly temperatures in interior and western Alaska averaged at least 8 degrees F above normal. In the southeastern part of the State, Juneau noted daily-record highs on Monday (49 degrees F) and Wednesday (48 degrees F), accompanied by a weekly precipitation total of 2.80 inches. National Agricultural Summary November 20 - 26, 2000 Highlights: Cold weather limited emergence and development of winter grains, especially in the northern Great Plains. Rain and soggy soils continued to interfere with cotton and peanut harvests in the southern Great Plains and Southeast. Wet conditions also hampered the sunflower harvest. Harvest was virtually complete in the Corn Belt, but a few corn fields remained unharvested in Pennsylvania. Fieldwork continued with few interruptions in California and Florida. Sugarcane harvest was briefly delayed by rain in Louisiana. Winter wheat: Planting slowly advanced to 94 percent complete, compared with 97 percent at this time last year and 98 percent normally seeded by this date. Planting was most active on the Atlantic Coastal Plains, where North Carolina growers sowed 10 percent of their acreage before late-week precipitation halted progress. Seeding slowly progressed in the southern Great Plains, where soils were dry enough to support equipment. However, progress remained well behind normal in Oklahoma and Texas. Planting neared completion in the Mississippi Delta States, as progress matched the 5-year average in Arkansas. Eighty-five percent of the crop was emerged, more than 1 week behind last year and about 2 weeks behind the 5-year average. Very few fields emerged in the Great Plains due to cold weather. In Montana and South Dakota, emergence was virtually halted. Progress was 3 weeks behind normal in Montana and more than 6 weeks late in South Dakota. Three percent of the acreage emerged in Kansas, 6 percent emerged in Oklahoma, and 5 percent emerged in Texas. In Oklahoma and Texas, emergence was nearly 1 month behind the 5-year average. Brief periods of warm weather promoted germination and emergence of a few fields in the Corn Belt. Progress was slightly ahead of normal in Indiana and Ohio, but slightly behind normal in Illinois and Missouri. Below-normal temperatures hindered development in the Pacific Coast States, but emergence remained well ahead of average in California. Cotton: Eighty-five percent of the crop was harvested, equal to last year and the 5-year average. In the southern Great Plains, harvest continued on the High Plains where drier conditions permitted, but progress remained behind normal in Texas. Wet conditions hindered progress in Oklahoma, while Arkansas growers completed their harvest before heavy rainfall arrived. Harvest steadily advanced in the Southeast until late-week precipitation halted progress. Picking was most active in South Carolina. In the Southwest, harvest progressed slightly ahead of normal. Other Crops: The peanut crop was 93 percent dug, compared with 96 percent on this date last year. In Texas, harvest continued on the High Plains, but remained stalled in other areas due to wet soils. Wet weather also hindered progress in Oklahoma. In the Southeast, growers completed their harvest, despite brief rain delays. The sunflower harvest progressed to 92 percent complete. Harvest slowly advanced in Colorado, Kansas, and North Dakota due to wet soils and excessive bract moisture. However, harvest accelerated near the end of the week following several days of dry weather. Winter Wheat: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1995- State:Nov 26,:Nov 19,:Nov 26,: 1999 : 2000 : 2000 : 1999 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 93 87 97 93 CA : 60 55 59 60 CO : 100 100 100 100 ID : 100 100 100 100 IL : 100 100 100 100 IN : 100 100 100 100 KS : 98 95 100 99 MI : 100 100 100 100 MO : 98 96 100 98 MT : 100 100 100 100 NE : 100 100 100 100 NC : 80 70 67 76 OH : 100 100 100 100 OK : 84 78 99 99 OR : 100 100 97 98 SD : 100 100 100 100 TX : 87 84 91 96 WA : 100 100 100 100 : 18 Sts: 94 91 97 98 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 18 States planted 90% of last year's winter wheat acreage. Peanuts: Percent Harvested, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1995- State:Nov 26,:Nov 19,:Nov 26,: 1999 : 2000 : 2000 : 1999 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AL : 100 97 100 100 FL : 100 100 100 NA GA : 100 99 100 100 NC : 100 100 95 98 OK : 92 88 99 97 TX : 69 62 81 87 VA : 100 100 100 100 : 7 Sts : 93 91 96 NA -------------------------------------- 1/ These 7 States harvested 98% of last year's peanut acreage. Winter Wheat: Percent Emerged, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1995- State:Nov 26,:Nov 19,:Nov 26,: 1999 : 2000 : 2000 : 1999 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 85 79 88 81 CA : 40 35 22 25 CO : 100 100 100 99 ID : 92 90 91 94 IL : 98 96 98 99 IN : 100 98 98 98 KS : 92 89 93 96 MI : 100 100 100 100 MO : 90 86 90 92 MT : 84 84 94 93 NE : 100 100 100 100 NC : 60 45 46 61 OH : 100 97 100 98 OK : 71 65 91 91 OR : 95 90 89 91 SD : 74 74 99 100 TX : 72 67 77 87 WA : 100 100 99 99 : 18 Sts: 85 82 90 93 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 18 States planted 90% of last year's winter wheat acreage. Cotton: Percent Harvested, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1995- State:Nov 26,:Nov 19,:Nov 26,: 1999 : 2000 : 2000 : 1999 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AL : 96 93 94 94 AZ : 88 83 77 83 AR : 100 99 100 99 CA : 92 88 95 88 GA : 86 82 85 82 LA : 100 100 100 100 MS : 100 100 100 99 MO : 100 99 100 96 NC : 88 85 69 82 OK : 81 76 86 71 SC : 92 85 90 87 TN : 100 100 100 97 TX : 70 66 74 76 VA : 84 79 78 84 : 14 Sts: 85 82 85 85 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 14 States harvested 98% of last year's cotton acreage. Sunflowers: Percent Harvested, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1995- State:Nov 26,:Nov 19,:Nov 26,: 1999 : 2000 : 2000 : 1999 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : CO : 92 87 NA NA KS : 98 97 100 NA ND : 88 85 96 95 SD : 97 97 100 99 : 4 Sts : 92 90 NA NA -------------------------------------- 1/ These 4 States harvested 90% of last year's sunflowers acreage. Winter Wheat: Crop Condition by Percent, Selected States -------------------------------------- State : VP : P : F : G : EX -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 0 2 31 51 16 CA : 0 0 30 60 10 CO : 3 6 16 60 15 ID : 0 0 8 86 6 IL : 0 3 22 63 12 IN : 0 3 19 61 17 KS : 3 11 31 49 6 MI : 2 5 14 64 15 MO : 0 8 42 45 5 MT : 0 12 57 31 0 NE : 0 4 30 56 10 NC : 1 8 21 60 10 OH : 1 1 13 58 27 OK : 6 14 31 45 4 OR : 0 4 11 85 0 SD : 12 13 51 20 4 TX : 2 6 38 51 3 WA : 0 0 25 55 20 : 18 Sts : 3 8 30 51 8 : Prev Wk : 2 8 34 48 8 Prev Yr : 4 16 37 37 6 -------------------------------------- VP-Very Poor, P-Poor, F-Fair, G-Good, EX-Excellent. National crop conditions for selected States are weighted based on 1999 planted acres. The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released at 12:00 p.m. on April 3, 2001. 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