We 1 (12-01) Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released December 11, 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. 50 December 2 - 8, 2001 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Record warmth prevailed from the Plains eastward, elevating weekly temperatures as much as 18 degrees F above normal in the lower Great Lakes region and resulting in more than a dozen monthly record highs on December 5-6 from the Midwest into the Northeast. At week's end, however, cooler air overspread the Midwest and Northeast, setting the stage for the first significant snowfall of the season in the latter region. Although the early-December warmth promoted some late-season winter wheat development from the southern Plains to the Ohio Valley, dryness continued to limit wheat growth in the southern Atlantic States. Meanwhile, dry weather prevailed for much of the week in the previously soaked lower Mississippi Valley and adjacent areas, allowing water to drain from fields that were still flooded. However, widespread showers returned toward week's end, bringing renewed fieldwork delays and lowland flooding. In the West, heavy precipitation fell in many areas from northern California and the Great Basin northward, further easing long-term drought and boosting topsoil moisture reserves and high-elevation snow packs. Farther south, sporadic, generally light precipitation was observed in southern California and the Southwest. Early in the week, a strong Pacific storm produced heavy precipitation as far east as the western Great Basin, where Reno, NV, netted a daily-record total (1.19 inches) on December 2. Reno's water year-to-date (October 1 - December 8) precipitation climbed to 2.16 inches, exceeding their record-low total of 2.13 inches observed from October 1, 2000, to September 30, 2001. In northern California, peak wind gusts on December 2 included 52 mph in Sacramento and 48 mph in Red Bluff. Meanwhile in the Sierra Nevada, high-elevation locations added approximately 6 inches of liquid to the snow pack during the first 8 days of December, according to the California Department of Water Resources. Some Sierra Nevada locations, including Carson Pass, received more than 5 feet of snow during the early-December storm. The average liquid equivalent of the Sierra Nevada snow pack, which contained only a trace of liquid on November 12, increased to 11 inches (150 percent of normal) on December 8. Farther east, record warmth developed across the central Plains on Monday, expanding throughout the eastern half of the country from December 4-6. Some record warmth lingered in the Southeast through week's end. Nearly 200 daily-record highs were set or tied during the week, including well over a dozen December-record highs. The parade of record began in Kansas on December 3 with highs of 76 degrees F in Liberal and Ashland. A day later, Gilbert, AR, noted 80 degrees F. On December 5, when nearly 100 daily records were broken, monthly record highs included 70 degrees F in Flint, MI, 68 degrees F in Milwaukee, WI, and 67 degrees F in Rockford, IL. Most of the previous December records had been set in 1962, 1982, or 1998. In a final flurry of monthly records on Thursday, all-time December highs included 72 degrees F in Syracuse, NY, and 71 degrees F in Portland, ME. Through December 8, only six freezes were noted in Indianapolis, IN, their latest such observance since 1923, when their seventh freeze occurred on December 11. Farther west, Rochester, MN, set a pair of records: the latest autumn observance of the first high temperature below freezing (30 degrees F on December 8) and first low temperature below 20 degrees F (15 degrees F on December 8). Rochester's former records were established on December 5, 1999, and December 5, 1962, respectively. Meanwhile, Albany, NY, notched a daily-record high of 68 degrees F on Thursday, highlighting their first December 1-7 period on record with high temperatures at or above 50 degrees F. However, sharply colder air arrived in Albany on December 8-9, accompanied by a 7.4-inch snowfall. Elsewhere in the Northeast, storm-total snowfall reached 9.0 inches in Worcester, MA, and 8.0 inches in Jaffrey, NH. In contrast, only 0.1 inch fell in Buffalo, NY, leaving the snow-belt city awaiting its first 1-inch snowfall of the season. Similarly, LaCrosse, WI, received no measurable snowfall through December 8, breaking their record set in 1969, when the first accumulating snow fell on December 7. Seasonal showers continued across Hawaii, bringing additional relief from long-term rainfall deficits. Precipitation was heaviest in windward locations on the Big Island, where Glenwood received 5.28 inches in 72 hours from December 2-5 and 4.33 inches in 48 hours from December 7-9. With 2.03 inches on Monday, Hilo measured daily-record total for December 3. On Oahu, the Manoa Lyon Arboretum netted 2.55 inches in 24 hours on December 5-6. Meanwhile, bitterly cold weather overspread much of Alaska, holding weekly temperatures more than 20 degrees F below normal across the southern interior portion of the State. In Anchorage, low temperatures fell below 0 degrees F on the first 8 days of the month, including a low of -11 degrees F on December 7, following 682 days without sub-zero readings. High temperatures failed to climb above -20 degrees F in Fairbanks during the week, and lows fell to -30 degrees F or below from December 3-8. On December 5, lows dipped to -35 degrees F in Fairbanks and McGrath. National Agricultural Summary December 3 - 9, 2001 Above-normal temperatures prevailed across most of the Nation, stimulating vegetative growth of winter crops and forages. In the northern Great Plains, the unusually warm weather melted the winter wheat crop's protective snow cover, but provided much-needed moisture for short-term development. In the central and southern Great Plains, moisture shortages increased, limiting the winter wheat crop's response to the favorable temperatures. Widespread, light precipitation maintained topsoil moisture supplies in the central and eastern Corn Belt, and supported development of the soft red winter wheat crop. Rain boosted moisture reserves in the valleys of California and the Pacific Northwest, while snow accumulations continued to build in the higher elevations of the Cascade, Sierra, and interior mountain ranges. Unfavorably wet weather continued along a band extending from the western Gulf Coast to the upper Ohio River Valley, while much of the Atlantic Coastal Plain remained unfavorably dry. Late-season harvest and fall tillage were uninterrupted in the Texas High Plains, and field and orchard work continued with only brief rain delays in Florida. The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released after 12 p.m. ET on December 18, 2001. 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