We 1 (11-01) Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released November 14, 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. 46 November 4 - 10, 2001 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Mostly dry, often windy weather continued to hamper winter wheat growth and establishment in several producing areas, including the Plains and Atlantic Coast States. Conditions on the Plains remained similar to autumn 1999, when a poorly established wheat crop raised concerns about winterkill. However, with the exception of dryland wheat on the central and southern High Plains, most of the 1999-2000 crop eventually recovered, providing an example of winter wheat's resilience, in part due to a mild winter, snow cover during periodic cold outbreaks, and timely spring rainfall. At midweek, some light rain and wet snow provided temporary relief to wheat on the central High Plains. However, the remainder of the Plains experienced mostly dry weather, sharp temperature fluctuations, and occasional high winds that caused blowing dust and local soil erosion. A widespread, soaking rain last fell across the central and southern Plains on September 16-17. Precipitation in Montana has been spotty since beneficial rainfall in June and July eased a 2-year drought. Meanwhile, Hurricane Michelle grazed southeastern Florida on November 4-5, producing showers and winds that briefly gusted to near 50 mph Elsewhere in the South, dry weather promoted summer crop harvesting and winter wheat planting. However, in the Atlantic Coast States, dry, breezy conditions depleted soil moisture, stressed winter wheat, and increased the threat of wildfire activity. Farther north, mild, mostly dry weather in the Corn Belt aided corn and soybean harvesting operations. In the eastern Corn Belt, where summer crop harvesting and final winter wheat planting had been delayed by October's heavy rainfall, drier conditions favored wheat development and an acceleration of fieldwork. In winter wheat areas of the Northwest, late-week showers maintained favorable topsoil moisture levels, although effects of the region's 20-month drought continued to limit subsoil moisture and reservoir supplies. Elsewhere in the West, warm, dry weather promoted autumn fieldwork but increased moisture requirements for irrigated winter grains. Weekly temperatures ranged from 6 to 12 degrees F above normal across the northern Plains and western Corn Belt, and 2 to 8 degrees F above normal on the southern Plains, resulting in more than 50 daily-record highs. Warmth also lingered in the Southwest, where Phoenix, AZ (95 degrees F on November 4), recorded their latest autumn high temperature at or above 95 degrees F (previously 96 degrees F on November 2, 1924). On Monday in South Dakota, Huron's maximum temperature of 80 degrees F represented only their second November observance of a high of 80 degrees F or above; the other was 86 degrees F on November 8, 1999. A pair of record highs were set during the week in several locations, including Miles City, MT (73 degrees F on November 5 and 69 degrees F on November 9), and Valentine, NE (83 degrees F on November 5 and 75 degrees F on November 9). In contrast, readings averaged as much as 4 degrees F below normal in the Southeast and Northwest, partly due to a high-pressure system that spread across the Northwest at midweek, then edged into the East by week's end. On November 7, daily-record lows in Oregon included 15 degrees F in Klamath Falls and 20 degrees F in Ashland. Along the East Coast, November 10 featured record lows in Salisbury, MD (23 degrees F), and on Cape Hatteras, NC (37 degrees F). On Monday morning, the center of weakening Hurricane Michelle passed less than 200 miles southeast of Miami, FL. Southern Florida's peak wind gusts included 47 mph at Ft. Lauderdale and Key West, and 51 mph at Miami Beach. Storm-total rainfall reached 2.56 inches in Key West. Meanwhile, a storm system lingered across New England, producing as much as 6 inches of snow in western Maine and northern New Hampshire. Bethel, ME, netted 6 inches of snow on November 4-5. Gusty winds lingered across Maine through midweek, resulting in peak gusts to 55 mph at Eastport and 52 mph in Caribou. Dry weather persisted, however, elsewhere in the East. In Washington, DC, where the September-October rainfall of 2.10 inches (33 percent of normal) marked the driest such period since 1967, only 0.01 inch fell during the first 10 days of November. By week's end, the National Interagency Fire Center reported that wildfires were consuming more than 80,000 acres in eastern Kentucky, where significant fire activity began on October 19, and nearly 10,000 acres in other States from Pennsylvania to Georgia. Farther west, a cold front's passage on November 8 raised dust on the southern Plains. In Midland, TX, where the 7-week (September 23 - November 10) rainfall totaled 0.05 inch, north-northeasterly winds gusting to 35 mph on Thursday briefly lowered the visibility to 2.5 miles in blowing dust. Farther north, rain and wet snow briefly dampened the central High Plains. In eastern Colorado, November 7-8 snowfall totaled 2.2 inches in Denver and 1.8 inches in Colorado Springs. At week's end, precipitation began to spread across the West Coast States, especially California, signaling the approach of the first of back-to-back storm systems. Cold weather gripped much of Alaska for a fifth consecutive week, while mostly dry weather prevailed across the mainland. On November 10, the high and low temperatures in McGrath (-6 and -23 degrees F, respectively) were more than 20 degrees F below normal, capping a week that featured readings that averaged 8 to 16 degrees F below normal across interior southern Alaska. Meanwhile in Hawaii, locally heavy showers on the Big Island briefly spread across the remainder of the State on November 7-8, when 24-hour totals reached 2.82 inches at the Manoa Lyon Arboretum on Oahu and 1.37 inches at Wainiha, Kauai, and Haiku, Maui. Showers diminished statewide after November 8. On the Big Island, weekly totals included 7.10 inches in Glenwood, 6.29 inches in Mountain View, and 5.01 inches in Honokaa. National Agricultural Summary November 5 - 11, 2001 Highlights: The end of the harvest season quickly approached, as dry weather aided progress across most of the Nation. Seeding of winter wheat and other winter crops also neared completion, although abnormally dry soils hindered planting along the Atlantic Coastal Plains. Light precipitation boosted moisture supplies in parts of the Pacific Northwest and Southwest. Light rain also prevented winter wheat deterioration on the central High Plains and parts of the southern Great Plains. However, moisture shortages increased crop stress in the southern High Plains, the northern Great Plains, and along the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Warm weather and adequate topsoil moisture supplies supported winter grain development in the Corn Belt. Winter wheat: Ninety-six percent of the crop has been planted, and 86 percent has emerged. Planting and emergence were ahead of last year's slow pace, when 88 percent was planted and 77 percent was emerged on this date. Normally by this date, 93 percent would be seeded and 84 percent would be emerged. Planting was virtually complete in the Great Plains and rapidly approached completion in the Corn Belt, where Indiana growers seeded 10 percent of their acreage during the week. Seeding was also active in the lower Mississippi Valley and California. On the Atlantic Coastal Plain, planting remained ahead of normal even though some growers were waiting for soaking rains to recharge soil moisture supplies. Warm temperatures promoted growth where soil moisture supplies were available, but most areas of the Great Plains were extremely dry. In the Corn Belt, emergence and growth were aided by above-normal temperatures and ample soil moisture supplies, although some areas remained unfavorably wet. Light showers prevented crop deterioration on the central High Plains and in the Pacific Northwest. On the Atlantic Coastal Plain, emergence and growth were spotty and uneven due to dry soils. Corn: Harvest progressed to 91 percent complete, 4 percentage points behind this date last year but slightly ahead of the 5-year average of 90 percent. Dry weather supported harvest efforts across the Corn Belt and Great Plains. Harvest was most active in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. However, progress still lagged behind normal in Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Harvest neared completion across most of the Corn Belt and Great Plains. Growers in Kansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas completed their harvest. Progress was less advanced around the Great Lakes and upper Ohio River Valley. Soybeans: Harvest advanced to 96 percent complete, slightly behind last year's 97-percent pace but ahead of the 95-percent average for this date. Warm, dry weather aided harvest in the Corn Belt, interior Mississippi Delta, and Atlantic Coastal Plain. In Michigan, progress remained behind the 5-year average even though growers harvested more than one-fifth of their crop during the week. Harvest advanced far ahead of normal in North Carolina and neared completion several days earlier than normal in Arkansas and Kentucky. The harvest season ended in Nebraska and the Dakotas, and very few fields remained unharvested in Iowa, Kansas, and Minnesota. Cotton: Eighty percent of the crop was picked, slightly ahead of last year's 78-percent pace and 5 percentage points ahead of the average for this date. Dry weather aided harvest throughout the Southeast, but harvest was most active on the Atlantic Coastal Plain. In North Carolina and Virginia, harvest progressed well ahead of the 5-year average. In Texas, harvest continued on the Plains and across the north-central regions, although early morning fog and dew lingered through late-morning hours and delayed progress in some areas. Also, some growers continued to wait for a hard frost to defoliate their crop. In the Southwest, harvest was aided by dry weather most of the week, although showers occasionally interrupted progress. Other Crops: The sorghum harvest progressed to 96 percent, equal to last year's pace but ahead of the 90-percent average for this date. Harvest neared completion in the central and northern Great Plains but remained active on the central and southern High Plains, especially in New Mexico and Oklahoma. Light showers briefly interrupted harvest in Colorado, but progress remained far ahead of normal. The peanut harvest was 94 percent complete, ahead of last year and the average of 88 and 92 percent, respectively. Harvest was virtually complete in the Southeast and along the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, but digging lagged in Alabama. Harvest remained active in the southern Great Plains. The sunflower crop was 97 percent harvested, compared with 88 percent at this time last year. Harvest neared completion ahead of normal in the Dakotas. Rain delays were brief on the central High Plains. Corn: Percent Harvested, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Nov 11,:Nov 4, :Nov 11,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : CO : 95 90 94 88 IL : 96 88 99 94 IN : 82 65 97 87 IA : 93 76 99 93 KS : 100 99 100 98 KY : 99 97 100 96 MI : 65 47 72 69 MN : 95 89 97 95 MO : 95 91 100 93 NE : 94 83 96 90 NC : 100 99 100 99 ND : 97 92 85 90 OH : 78 61 82 75 PA : 87 74 61 66 SD : 95 84 92 87 TN : 100 99 100 100 TX : 100 99 100 100 WI : 72 56 85 79 : 18 Sts: 91 81 95 90 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 18 States harvested 94% of last year's corn acreage. Winter Wheat: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Nov 11,:Nov 4, :Nov 11,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 82 65 80 76 CA : 40 30 48 33 CO : 100 100 100 100 ID : 100 99 100 99 IL : 98 94 99 98 IN : 98 88 100 99 KS : 100 99 93 97 MI : 98 97 100 100 MO : 90 82 92 90 MT : 100 99 99 100 NE : 100 100 100 100 NC : 68 62 57 56 OH : 96 94 99 99 OK : 96 95 66 90 OR : 100 100 100 95 SD : 100 100 100 100 TX : 95 92 82 90 WA : 100 100 100 100 : 18 Sts: 96 94 88 93 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 18 States planted 90% of last year's winter wheat acreage. Soybeans: Percent Harvested, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Nov 11,:Nov 4, :Nov 11,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 93 83 88 83 IL : 98 93 99 98 IN : 96 85 99 98 IA : 99 95 100 99 KS : 99 97 97 93 KY : 96 85 92 83 LA : 99 97 100 99 MI : 85 63 92 95 MN : 99 99 99 99 MS : 98 95 99 95 MO : 92 81 95 90 NE : 100 98 100 98 NC : 65 47 47 36 ND : 100 99 100 100 OH : 97 92 96 96 SD : 100 98 100 99 TN : 80 66 84 75 WI : 94 85 100 99 : 18 Sts: 96 90 97 95 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 18 States harvested 96% of last year's soybean acreage. Winter Wheat: Percent Emerged, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Nov 11,:Nov 4, :Nov 11,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 59 42 60 56 CA : 20 15 29 15 CO : 100 97 99 98 ID : 92 79 85 85 IL : 91 75 91 90 IN : 83 70 93 90 KS : 96 93 86 92 MI : 86 73 95 95 MO : 63 56 82 73 MT : 85 80 82 87 NE : 100 100 100 100 NC : 38 30 33 34 OH : 87 79 93 92 OK : 85 80 59 79 OR : 83 67 84 74 SD : 95 91 73 93 TX : 75 73 61 75 WA : 97 94 100 97 : 18 Sts: 86 81 77 84 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 18 States planted 90% of last year's winter wheat acreage. Cotton: Percent Harvested, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Nov 11,:Nov 4, :Nov 11,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AL : 65 58 91 84 AZ : 66 63 69 67 AR : 95 89 98 94 CA : 90 80 79 73 GA : 73 61 77 70 LA : 98 93 100 99 MS : 96 89 100 98 MO : 98 91 100 90 NC : 77 60 77 67 OK : 60 55 68 60 SC : 70 57 74 74 TN : 92 86 99 93 TX : 70 62 60 61 VA : 81 70 65 63 : 14 Sts: 80 71 78 75 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 14 States harvested 98% of last year's cotton acreage. Sorghum: Percent Harvested, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Nov 11,:Nov 4, :Nov 11,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 100 100 100 100 CO : 90 81 86 67 IL : 98 96 98 90 KS : 99 96 99 92 LA : 100 100 100 100 MO : 96 90 100 92 NE : 97 91 100 91 NM : 70 51 59 55 OK : 87 76 82 78 SD : 98 94 97 91 TX : 92 91 94 91 : 11 Sts: 96 92 96 90 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 11 States harvested 97% of last year's sorghum acreage. Peanuts: Percent Harvested, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Nov 11,:Nov 4, :Nov 11,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AL : 90 88 95 97 FL : 99 98 98 99 GA : 100 98 97 98 NC : 99 94 99 90 OK : 93 84 86 88 TX : 81 73 55 72 VA : 100 100 100 99 : 7 Sts : 94 91 88 92 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 7 States harvested 97% of last year's peanut acreage. Sunflowers: Percent Harvested, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1996- State:Nov 11,:Nov 4, :Nov 11,: 2000 : 2001 : 2001 : 2000 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : CO : 90 84 82 NA KS : 99 96 96 NA ND : 98 91 83 91 SD : 97 89 96 95 : 4 Sts : 97 90 88 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 : 1 4 32 56 7 CA : 0 0 20 60 20 CO : 1 4 27 59 9 ID : 0 5 14 69 12 IL : 1 3 27 62 7 IN : 4 6 38 45 7 KS : 2 10 27 51 10 MI : 1 10 26 56 7 MO : 0 2 34 60 4 MT : 15 11 63 11 0 NE : 1 5 31 57 6 NC : 5 20 40 35 0 OH : 5 8 26 53 8 OK : 23 29 28 17 3 OR : 3 25 47 25 0 SD : 1 8 35 49 7 TX : 14 30 43 12 1 WA : 2 5 63 30 0 : 18 Sts : 7 15 34 38 6 : Prev Wk : 5 14 35 39 7 Prev Yr : 2 9 35 48 6 -------------------------------------- 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 November 20, 2001. 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.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C., 20250-9410, or call 202-720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. ACCESS TO REPORTS!! For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data products, and services: INTERNET ACCESS All NASS reports are available free of charge on the worldwide Internet. For access, connect to the Internet and go to the NASS Home Page at: http://www.usda.gov/nass/. Select "Today's Reports" or Publications and then Reports by Calendar or Publications and then Search, by Title or Subject. E-MAIL SUBSCRIPTION There are two options for subscribing via e-mail. All NASS reports are available by subscription free of charge direct to your e-mail address. 1) Starting with the NASS Home Page at http://www.usda.gov/nass/, click on Publications, then click on the Subscribe by E-mail button which takes you to the page describing e-mail delivery of reports. Finally, click on Go to the Subscription Page and follow the instructions. 2) If you do NOT have Internet access, send an e-mail message to: usda-reports@usda.mannlib.cornell.edu. In the body of the message type the word: list. AUTOFAX ACCESS NASSFax service is available for some reports from your fax machine. Please call 202-720-2000, using the handset attached to your fax. Respond to the voice prompts. Document 0411 is a list of available reports. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PRINTED REPORTS OR DATA PRODUCTS CALL OUR TOLL-FREE ORDER DESK: 800-999-6779 (U.S. and Canada) Other areas, please call 703-605-6220 FAX: 703-605-6900 (Visa, MasterCard, check, or money order acceptable for payment.) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ASSISTANCE For assistance with general agricultural statistics or further information about NASS or its products or services, contact the Agricultural Statistics Hotline at 800-727-9540, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, or e-mail: nass@nass.usda.gov.