We 1 (4-01) Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released April 24, 2001, 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 88, No. 17 April 15 - 21, 2001 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. HIGHLIGHTS: Rapidly changing weather patterns brought sharply colder air to the Plains and areas eastward, temporary relief from wet conditions in the upper Midwest, and a brief spell of warm, dry weather in the West. By week's end, however, conditions reverted to those observed during the first half of April, which included warm weather across the South, additional rainfall in the saturated northwestern Corn Belt, and cool, unsettled weather in the West. Dry weather across the upper Midwest for most of the week allowed most swollen rivers to recede, excluding the Mississippi River downstream from LaCrosse, WI. Several gauging points along the Red and James Rivers attained their highest levels since April 1997, while the Mississippi River crested at the second-highest level on record, behind April 1965, from Wabasha, MN, to Dubuque, IA. Heavy rain (0.5-2 inches) returned to the western Corn Belt at week's end, further delaying the onset of spring fieldwork. In contrast, corn planting progressed in the Ohio Valley, interrupted only briefly by scattered showers. Meanwhile, a brief shot of record cold invaded the South on April 18-19. On the latter date, temperatures near 30 deg F were reported as far south as western north-central Florida. Readings as low as 24 to 32 deg F in the mid-Atlantic piedmont had possible adverse effects on blooming peaches and tender ground vegetation. Mostly dry weather across the South allowed summer crop planting to rapidly proceed, although extremely dry conditions persisted in southern portions of Texas and Florida. On the central and southern Plains, late-week warmth replaced chilly conditions. On Wednesday, frost and near-freezing temperatures were noted as far south as Oklahoma. Gusty winds accompanied the warmer weather on the Plains, bringing renewed erosion concerns with respect to the poorly established portion of the winter wheat crop. On the drought-affected northern High Plains, light precipitation boosted topsoil moisture but slowed spring wheat planting. In the West, a few days of warm, dry weather aided crop development and planting operations, but cool, wet conditions returned at week's end. High-elevation snow showers in the Northwest provided limited relief from long-term drought. The week commenced with a pair of weak storm systems traversing the upper Midwest and Ohio River Valley, bringing light to moderate precipitation from the western Great Lakes region eastward into the mid-Atlantic. As colder air began to dive southward into the Plains and Midwest from Canada behind the northernmost system, snow fell across northern Minnesota, including 8.0 inches at International Falls, MN. Meanwhile, a stalled cold front was draped across the Southeast, triggering widely-scattered, mostly light, showers from the lower Delta eastward to the southern Atlantic Coast, although Monroe, LA, measured a daily record 1.63 inches of rain on Sunday. In contrast, high pressure brought mild and dry weather to the West, with seventies into central Washington and eighties into central California on Monday, although a cold front, clouds, and showers approached the Pacific Northwest. As both systems in the East tracked northeastward, Arctic air shot southward into the southern Great Plains and Delta during Tuesday morning, and eastward to the mid-Atlantic Coast by Tuesday evening. Although not records, single-digit readings occurred across northern Minnesota (7 deg F at Tower and 8 deg F at Embarrass) Tuesday morning. During Wednesday and Thursday, high pressure dominated the eastern half of the Nation, with at least 54 daily record lows reported during April 17-19. Selected record lows on April 17 included 25 deg F at South Bend, IN; on April 18, 28 deg F at Fayetteville, AR, 29 deg F at Paducah, KY and Jackson, TN, and 33 deg F at Macon, GA; and on April 19, 28 deg F at Lynchburg, VA, 29 deg F at Raleigh, NC, 31 deg F at Greenville, SC, and 36 deg F at Jacksonville, FL. According to the Florida Automated Weather Network (FAWN), even a few western north-central Florida locations briefly dropped below freezing Thursday morning (30 deg F at Alachua, 31 deg F at Brooksville). Highs remained unseasonably low, with several stations setting record low maximum temperatures on Tuesday (Tupelo, MS, 55 deg F and Lubbock, TX, 49 deg F) and Wednesday (63 deg F at Daytona Beach, FL). Even Asheville, NC measured snow (0.2 inch) on Tuesday, the eighth latest date on record that this has occurred. There were concerns of widespread, major frost and freeze damage to orchard blossoms, jointed and headed winter grains, and newly-emerged spring crops. Readings, however, appeared to stay at or slightly above the critical temperature thresholds and durations in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic. Ample topsoil moisture from recent heavy rains across most of the Southeast may have moderated dewpoint and air temperatures close to the surface. However, some scattered locations and crops in the lower Ohio Valley, central Appalachians, and Piedmont sustained minor damage. In the West, warm and relatively dry weather briefly made an appearance after a relatively cool, unsettled first half of April. There was a handful of daily record highs Tuesday to Thursday, including 80 deg F at Pendleton, OR (4/17), 83 deg F at Worland, WY (4/18), and 89 deg F at Burlington, CO and 92 deg F at Lubbock, TX (4/19). Towards the week's end, conditions flip-flopped, with cooler and unsettled weather returning to the West, showers and thunderstorms developing across the north-central Plains, upper Midwest, and Ohio Valley, and temperatures rebounding into the eighties by Saturday across the Southeast. A strong Pacific storm system entered California during the weekend, dropping late-season heavy rains on the state, including April 20 record totals of 0.69" at San Francisco and 0.70" at Stockton, and 1.50" at Mt. Wilson on Saturday. Cold air also accompanied the system, as Redding (33 deg F), Moffett Field (39 deg F), and Oakland (42 deg F) set April 21 record lows. Farther east, developing low pressure over the middle Missouri Valley triggered another round of rain to the saturated north-central Plains and upper Midwest, ending a short stretch of dry weather that had lowered the region's flooded rivers. In the Southeast, another week with little or no rainfall along the Gulf Coast, especially in Florida and southern Texas, worsened the areas dryness and drought. Florida's citrus growers irrigated trees around the clock, and numerous wildfires continued blazing across the state as over 171,000 acres have been charred this year through April 23. Additionally, the level at Lake Okeechobee dropped below its all-time record low (9.75 feet on July 29, 1981) on April 21, reaching 9.74 feet. In Alaska, nearly the entire state reported above normal weekly temperatures, including a record high of 56 deg F at Juneau on Monday. The greatest departures (7 to 11 deg F) were found in western sections of the state. Near to above normal precipitation was limited to western parts of Alaska, with relatively dry weather across the northern, central, and southeastern portions. Typical daily trade showers fell on windward sites of the Hawaiian Islands, providing weekly totals of 1 to 4 inches of rain, but little or no rain was measured at most leeward locations, maintaining dryness or drought in western Maui, most of Molokai and Lanai, and western Big Island. Weekly temperatures averaged close to normal across Hawaii. National Agricultural Summary April 16 - 22, 2001 Highlights: Below-normal temperatures prevailed east of the Rocky Mountains, hindering development of winter crops, as well as germination, emergence, and growth of spring crops. Cooler-than-normal weather also limited biological progress in California. Field preparations accelerated, but planting progress remained slow, especially in the western Corn Belt, upper Mississippi Valley, and northern Great Plains, where fields along some streams and rivers were flooded. Planting remained active along the Ohio River Valley and adjacent areas of the southern Corn Belt. Moisture shortages stressed crops in Florida and interior areas of the Pacific Northwest. Winter Wheat: Ten percent of the acreage was at the heading stage, well behind last year's rapid pace, but just 3 percentage points behind the 5-year average. Below-normal temperatures limited development across most of the Nation. Crop development was most advanced in California, where 29 percent of the acreage entered the heading stage during the week. Development remained well behind normal in the lower Mississippi Valley, even though one-fourth of the Arkansas crop began heading during the week. Slightly warmer-than-normal temperatures aided growth in the southern High Plains. About 10 percent of the fields in Oklahoma and Texas progressed to the heading stage. The Kansas wheat crop lagged well behind normal, with just 48 percent at the jointing stage, compared with the average of 70 percent. In North Carolina, acreage headed more than doubled, to 30 percent, despite colder-than-normal weather. In the Pacific Northwest, the crop benefited from near-normal temperatures, but dry land fields suffered due to soil moisture shortages. Corn: Planting advanced to 10 percent complete. Progress lagged several days behind last year's 17-percent progress, but only slightly behind the average. Rain interfered with fieldwork and limited planting progress across most of the Corn Belt, but planting continued with almost no rain delays along the Ohio and Tennessee River Valleys. In Kentucky, nearly one-half of the crop was in the ground by the end of the busy week. Tennessee producers had two-thirds of their crop planted. Planting also progressed ahead of normal in Illinois and Indiana, mostly due to dry soils in the southern districts. In the western Corn Belt and northern Great Plains, soil moisture surpluses subsided, but most fields remained too wet to plant. A few sandy and well-drained fields were prepared and planted in Iowa and Nebraska. Planting was active in the southern Great Plains and along the Atlantic Coastal Plains. Cotton: Planting was 13 percent complete, slightly behind last year's pace, but equal to the 5-year average. Planting was most active in the Southwest and lower Mississippi Valley. Aided by dry weather, planting rapidly accelerated in Louisiana. California growers planted 15 percent of their acreage during the week, despite periodic rain delays. In the interior Mississippi Delta and Southeast, fieldwork was active and planting gained momentum. Small grains: Seven percent of the spring wheat acreage was seeded and 2 percent was emerged. At this time last year, 28 percent was seeded and 7 percent was emerged. Normally, 17 percent would be planted and 5 percent would be emerged by this date. Planting was active in Idaho and Washington and gained momentum in Montana. Wet soils limited progress in South Dakota and prevented progress in Minnesota and North Dakota. Above-normal temperatures promoted germination and emergence in the Pacific Northwest. Barley seeding was 15 percent complete, and 5 percent of the intended acreage was emerged. Planting progress was only one-half of last year's pace, but just 5 percentage points behind the average. Emergence lagged slightly behind last year's 8 percent and the average of 6 percent. Mostly dry weather aided rapid planting progress in the northern High Plains and Pacific Northwest, especially in Washington, where producers sowed one-fifth of their acreage during the week. Above-normal temperatures aided emergence in Idaho and Washington. Oat seeding advanced to 11 percent complete. Progress was far behind last year's 51-percent pace and the average of 31 percent. Three percent of the acreage was emerged, compared with 19 percent last year and 9 percent normally emerged by this date. Planting rapidly accelerated in Iowa and Nebraska, especially on sandy and well-drained soils. Emergence was ahead of normal in Ohio, despite below-normal temperatures. Other crops: Fifty percent of the rice crop was planted, well ahead of last year and the average of 39 and 36 percent, respectively. Twenty-three percent was emerged, compared with last year's 18 percent and the average of 16 percent. Arkansas growers seeded 31 percent of their acreage during the week. More than three-fourths of the crop was seeded along the western Gulf Coast. Cool weather inhibited germination, but emergence remained well ahead of the average in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas. Sorghum planting progressed to 15 percent complete, slightly behind last year and the average for this date. Planting was very active along the lower Mississippi Valley, advancing 24 and 15 percentage points in Arkansas and Louisiana, respectively. Planting steadily advanced in the southern Great Plains. Twenty-one percent of the sugarbeet acreage was planted in the four major sugarbeet-producing States, well behind last year's 38-percent progress, but only slightly behind the 23-percent average for this date. Idaho growers, aided by dry weather, planted 29 percent of their acreage during the week. Wet soils prevented planting in Minnesota and North Dakota. Corn: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Apr 22,:Apr 15,:Apr 22,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : CO : 3 1 8 10 IL : 19 5 28 15 IN : 11 3 10 7 IA : 1 0 9 4 KS : 24 11 37 24 KY : 49 24 43 30 MI : 0 0 3 1 MN : 0 0 6 5 MO : 24 13 74 37 NE : 2 0 11 6 NC : 60 40 61 60 ND : 0 0 1 2 OH : 3 3 4 6 PA : 0 0 3 3 SD : 0 0 3 1 TN : 67 37 54 53 TX : 49 42 67 63 WI : 0 0 0 2 : 18 Sts: 10 5 17 11 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 18 States planted 92% of last year's corn acreage. Winter Wheat: Percent Headed, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Apr 22,:Apr 15,:Apr 22,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 33 7 80 53 CA : 79 50 94 84 CO : 0 0 3 1 ID : 0 0 0 0 IL : 0 0 1 0 IN : 0 0 0 1 KS : 0 0 2 1 MI : 0 0 0 0 MO : 1 1 10 4 MT : 0 0 0 0 NE : 0 0 0 0 NC : 30 13 50 31 OH : 0 0 0 0 OK : 14 4 43 24 OR : 0 0 0 0 SD : 0 0 0 0 TX : 33 24 45 34 WA : 0 0 0 0 : 18 Sts: 10 5 19 13 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 18 States planted 90% of last year's winter wheat acreage. Cotton: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Apr 22,:Apr 15,:Apr 22,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AL : 14 7 14 19 AZ : 53 36 54 55 AR : 2 1 2 2 CA : 45 30 86 52 GA : 5 2 9 9 LA : 28 6 12 8 MS : 9 5 4 4 MO : 5 0 6 2 NC : 2 0 5 6 OK : 1 0 0 1 SC : 3 2 10 9 TN : 1 0 1 2 TX : 13 12 14 14 VA : 7 0 4 5 : 14 Sts: 13 9 15 13 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 14 States planted 98% of last year's cotton acreage. Sorghum: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Apr 22,:Apr 15,:Apr 22,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 62 38 34 31 CO : 0 0 1 0 IL : 0 0 0 0 KS : 0 0 0 0 LA : 30 15 19 28 MO : 3 0 8 3 NE : 0 0 0 0 NM : 0 0 0 0 OK : 8 4 5 3 SD : 0 0 0 0 TX : 38 35 43 45 : 11 Sts: 15 13 16 17 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 11 States planted 97% of last year's sorghum acreage. Rice: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Apr 22,:Apr 15,:Apr 22,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 57 26 32 30 CA : 0 0 8 3 LA : 76 67 85 75 MS : 43 32 18 45 TX : 76 66 78 62 : 5 Sts : 50 31 39 36 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 5 States planted 94% of last year's rice acreage. Rice: Percent Emerged, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Apr 22,:Apr 15,:Apr 22,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 14 3 4 4 CA : 0 0 0 0 LA : 56 48 70 57 MS : 26 12 0 11 TX : 59 40 63 43 : 5 Sts : 23 13 18 16 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 5 States planted 94% of last year's rice acreage. Sugarbeets: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Apr 22,:Apr 15,:Apr 22,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : ID : 65 36 90 77 MI : 55 52 48 10 MN : 0 0 21 12 ND : 0 0 20 10 : 4 Sts : 21 15 38 23 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 4 States planted 73% of last year's sugarbeet acreage. Spring Wheat: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Apr 22,:Apr 15,:Apr 22,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : ID : 42 30 74 59 MN : 0 0 21 10 MT : 8 4 23 16 ND : 0 0 14 6 SD : 5 2 71 36 WA : 66 52 82 67 : 6 Sts : 7 4 28 17 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 6 States planted 98% of last year's spring wheat acreage. Barley: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Apr 22,:Apr 15,:Apr 22,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : ID : 36 28 66 42 MN : 0 0 18 7 MT : 14 7 28 19 ND : 0 0 8 3 WA : 51 30 72 57 : 5 Sts : 15 10 30 20 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 5 States planted 80% of last year's barley acreage. Oats: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Apr 22,:Apr 15,:Apr 22,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : IA : 30 4 95 69 MN : 0 0 47 22 NE : 54 20 97 75 ND : 0 0 11 4 OH : 59 45 62 60 PA : 14 8 45 44 SD : 1 0 61 31 WI : 8 0 60 29 : 8 Sts : 11 4 51 31 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 8 States planted 37% of last year's oat acreage. Spring Wheat: Percent Emerged, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Apr 22,:Apr 15,:Apr 22,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : ID : 17 NA 31 25 MN : 0 NA 3 1 MT : 1 NA 3 2 ND : 0 NA 0 1 SD : 0 NA 23 9 WA : 25 NA 46 40 : 6 Sts : 2 NA 7 5 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 6 States planted 98% of last year's spring wheat acreage. Barley: Percent Emerged, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Apr 22,:Apr 15,:Apr 22,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : ID : 15 NA 28 17 MN : 0 NA 4 1 MT : 1 NA 3 1 ND : 0 NA 0 0 WA : 19 NA 26 25 : 5 Sts : 5 NA 8 6 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 5 States planted 80% of last year's barley acreage. Oats: Percent Emerged, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Apr 22,:Apr 15,:Apr 22,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : IA : 1 NA 53 23 MN : 0 NA 11 3 NE : 13 NA 66 35 ND : 0 NA 0 0 OH : 40 NA 37 29 PA : 5 NA 24 21 SD : 0 NA 17 6 WI : 0 NA 11 4 : 8 Sts: 3 NA 19 9 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 8 States planted 37% of last year's oat acreage. Winter Wheat: Crop Condition by Percent, Selected States -------------------------------------- State : VP : P : F : G : EX -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 2 10 35 48 5 CA : 0 0 10 50 40 CO : 1 7 28 55 9 ID : 0 0 8 80 12 IL : 1 5 21 62 11 IN : 0 3 22 60 15 KS : 13 23 37 25 2 MI : 0 3 17 50 30 MO : 1 5 27 57 10 MT : 5 19 52 22 2 NE : 2 12 31 50 5 NC : 1 8 25 59 7 OH : 1 3 20 59 17 OK : 14 21 37 26 2 OR : 2 15 38 40 5 SD : 16 24 35 22 3 TX : 4 13 43 34 6 WA : 0 5 27 62 6 : 18 Sts : 7 15 34 38 6 : Prev Wk : 6 14 35 39 6 Prev Yr : 6 8 25 49 12 -------------------------------------- VP-Very Poor, P-Poor, F-Fair, G-Good, EX-Excellent. National crop conditions for selected States are weighted based on 2000 planted acres.The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released after 12 p.m. ET on May 1, 2001. 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