We 1 (1-02) Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released January 3, 2002, 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 89, No. 01 December 23 - 29, 2001 For additional information, call (202) 720-7919. HIGHLIGHTS: A major change in the upper-air pattern, with ridging (high pressure) in the West and troughing (low pressure) in the East, took hold by the fourth full week of December. This brought below normal temperatures (departures -3 to -6 deg F) and tranquil weather to much of the eastern two-thirds of the Nation after nearly 2 months of near-record warmth, and somewhat milder and drier conditions to the West. As the dry, cold Canadian air crossed the unseasonably mild Great Lakes surfaces, the lake-effect snow machine kicked into full gear. Moderate to heavy snows blanketed downwind locations south of Lake Superior, east of Lake Michigan, and east of Lakes Erie and Ontario. Unfortunately, Buffalo, NY provided an incredible example of how persistent lake-effect snows can bury an area in a short amount of time. From December 24-28, an unprecedented 81.5 inches of snow buried the Buffalo-Niagara airport, shattering numerous snowfall records. As a comparison, Buffalo normally receives 93.5 inches the entire winter season. Significant precipitation (1 to 3 inches) also fell on central California and the Sierra Nevada, although the building ridge in the West blocked the eastward progression of storm systems into the Pacific Northwest, keeping weekly totals under an inch. Meanwhile, little or no precipitation fell on the Plains, leaving most areas without a protective snow cover as soils remained unfavorably dry across Montana and parts of Kansas and Oklahoma. Mostly dry weather eased flooding and helped dry out topsoils in eastern Texas and the Delta northward through the Ohio Valley, but worsened drought conditions in the southern Atlantic Coastal Plain, further stressing pastures and winter wheat. The cold weather kept winter wheat dormant in the Midwest and halted the growth of winter crops and pastures in the South. Temperatures fell near or slightly below freezing as far south as the Gulf Coast, including Louisiana's sugarcane and Florida's northern citrus areas. However, temperatures did not drop low enough to cause significant damage. As the week commenced, a storm system swept eastward through the Midwest and Delta, generating mostly light precipitation (less than 0.5 inch) ahead of the cold front in much of the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and New England. In the upper Midwest, the December 23 storm finally brought the record-latest first measurable snow of the winter to some areas (La Crosse and Madison, WI, and Ft. Wayne, IN). By Monday afternoon, the front cleared the Atlantic Coast, and much colder and drier air covered areas east of the Rockies. Widespread, sub-freezing lows finally encompassed much of the eastern two-thirds of the Nation, halting the growth of winter crops and pastures in the South, but sub-zero readings were confined to northern North Dakota and Minnesota. Although the temperature drop was quite dramatic from the previous week, no daily-record lows were broken as temperatures only fell to more typical winter levels. On Monday, lake-effect snows began in earnest across the Great Lakes, where Buffalo had only netted 1.6 inches of snow prior to December 24. By Christmas morning, a total of 20.5 (1.66 inches liquid equivalent) and 13.0 inches of snow had whitened Buffalo, NY and Marquette, MI, respectively, both breaking December 24 records. Meanwhile, the last vestiges of warmth in the Southeast disappeared courtesy of a cold front, but not before Hollywood, FL notched a record high of 85 deg F on Christmas. By mid-week, mostly dry and cold conditions were common across the contiguous United States as lake-effect snows continued unabated. As Buffalo's snows diminished Tuesday (but not before establishing the 4th greatest 24-hour snowfall on record at 25.2 inches), lower Michigan's lake-effect snows increased, totaling a record 11.9 and 9.6 inches on December 26 and 27, respectively, at Grand Rapids, MI. Besides re-enforcing shots of cold air across the Midwest, South, and East, the rest of the Nation experienced rather tranquil weather. On Thursday morning, it was cold enough in parts of Texas and Louisiana to equal or break record lows at Austin-Bergstrom, TX (24 deg F), New Iberia, LA (25 deg F), Lake Charles, LA (28 deg F), and Beaumont, TX (30 deg F). Heavy lake-effect snows returned to Buffalo on Thursday, with daily record amounts of 21.9 and 26.2 inches on December 27 and 28, which also included the 2nd greatest 24-hour snow of 35.4 inches (their top 24-hour amount remains 37.9 inches on December 9-10, 1995). By the time the snow tapered off on Friday, 81.5 inches had buried Buffalo, easily leaving a December and all-time monthly record total of 82.7 inches. Elsewhere, a Pacific storm system pushed into California and weakened, but not before dropping a record 1.29 inches of rain on Sacramento/Executive, CA on December 28, and a near-record 1.27 and 1.14 inches of rain on Stockton and Sacramento/Downtown, CA, respectively. Along the Gulf Coast, a weak disturbance produced cloudy skies and widely-scattered light showers to much of the area, which also kept readings mostly above freezing in the Louisiana sugarcane and Florida citrus regions. In Hawaii, an unusual weather pattern kept the western and eastern-most islands (normally wet windward locations of the Big Island (Kona) and Kauai) mostly dry, while the central islands (most of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and leeward locations of Kona) reported scattered light to moderate showers early and late in the week. In Alaska, last week's Arctic chill was replaced with modified maritime air, raising highs into the thirties and forties in the interior as temperature departures generally ranged between +10 and +18 deg F, with up to +26 deg F at Ft. Yukon. Only the southwestern section of the state averaged slightly colder than normal, and significant precipitation was confined to the western, southern, and southeastern coast of Alaska. National Agricultural Summary December 24 - 30, 2001 Dry weather prevailed across most of the nation during the final week of the year. Flood waters receded from low lying areas along the lower Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys, but many fields remained saturated. Scattered light showers benefited winter grains and forages in the Southeast and along the Atlantic Coastal Plain, but long term moisture reserves remained short in most areas. Below-normal temperatures limited growth of winter grains and forages throughout the South. Warmer-than-normal temperatures and ample moisture supplies stimulated growth and development of winter crops in California, although frequent showers hampered field and orchard work. In the northern Great Plains, near normal temperatures prevented winter kill, even though fields had very little snow cover to protect them. Mostly dry weather aided fieldwork in Florida. The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released after 12 p.m. ET on January 8, 2002. 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). 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