We 1 (3-02) Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released March 12, 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. 10 March 3 - 9, 2002 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Unfavorably dry weather--aggravated by mild, often breezy conditions--returned to much of the East, reducing topsoil moisture reserves and causing further intensification of long-term drought. Meanwhile across the South, where temperatures averaged as much as 10 degrees F below normal, several freezes limited pasture and winter grain growth. Only Deep South Texas and southern Florida escaped the late-season freezes. Farther north, very cold weather (as much as 14 degrees F below normal) maintained stress on livestock across the upper Midwest, while mild weather briefly returned to the remainder of the Corn Belt. Toward week's end, widespread showers boosted soil moisture reserves across the Midwest in advance of another strong cold front. On the Plains, precipitation was confined to northern areas, where snow cover remained adequate in most locations to protect the drought-stressed winter wheat crop from additional adversity. In northern and eastern Montana, where temperatures locally fell below -30 degrees F, weekly readings ranged from 20 to 28 degrees F below normal. Farther south, winter wheat remained dormant on the central Plains, but began to break dormancy across southern portions of the region. However, dry conditions limited wheat development on the southern High Plains, where temperatures briefly climbed above 80 degrees F. West of the Rockies, beneficial precipitation continued across the Northwest and spread as far south as the Sierra Nevada. However, unfavorable dryness stressed pastures and dryland small grains in southern California and Arizona, while meager high-elevation snow packs reduced spring runoff potential in the central and southern Rockies and the Southwest. At least 200 daily-record lows and more than a dozen March records were set or tied nationwide during the week. The week opened with March-record lows in locations such as Crested Butte, CO (-32 degrees F), and North Platte, NE (-22 degrees F). Monthly records were established on March 3 in Chanute, KS (0 degrees F), and Fayetteville, AR (1 degree F), only to be broken again the following day with lows of -3 and 0 degrees F, respectively. Elsewhere, March 4 featured monthly record-tying or -breaking lows in locations such as Rockford, IL (-11 degrees F), Monroe, LA (18 degrees F), and Houston, TX (22 degrees F). As cold air settled into the East on March 5, daily-record lows in Florida included 21 degrees F in Tallahassee and 28 degrees F in Gainesville. The cold snap resulted in the first sub-zero reading of the season in LaCrosse, WI (-2 degrees F on March 3), their latest such observance on record (previously February 2, 1891). Farther east, Indianapolis, IN (4 degrees F on March 4), posted their lowest temperature of the season in March for only the fourth time on record. Indianapolis' other readings and dates were -6 degrees F on March 6, 1960, -7 degrees F on March 2, 1980, and 8 degrees F on March 12, 1998. Farther east, the temperature fell to 19 degrees F in Washington, DC, on March 5, following a calendar year (2001) that featured no readings below 20 degrees F. Toward week's end, another strong cold front swept across the Plains and Midwest. Unlike the previous cold outbreak, which affected most of the Nation, bitterly cold weather was primarily confined to the northern Plains and Intermountain West. On Friday in Montana, Cut Bank's low of -34 degrees F broke a 70-year-old March record. Enough cold air spilled into California's Central Valley to set daily-record lows for March 8 in locations such as Redding (29 degrees F) and Sacramento (31 degrees F). Bakersfield, CA, in the San Joaquin Valley, closed the week with consecutive daily-record lows (33 and 34 degrees F). Meanwhile in North Dakota, daily records for March 9 included -28 degrees F in Williston, their lowest temperature of the season, and -20 degrees F in Dickinson. Widespread thunderstorms preceded and accompanied the late-week cold front on March 8 and 9, resulting in more than 300 reports of damaging winds from the east-central Plains to the northern Mid-Atlantic region, according to the Storm Prediction Center. In Michigan, Saturday's peak wind gusts were clocked to 60 mph in Jackson and 59 mph in Lansing. Meanwhile, a period of very snowy weather continued on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where Marquette's March 1-9 snowfall reached 36.3 inches, and their February 1 - March 9 total increased to 128.2 inches. Farther west, March 8-9 snowfall totaled 3.8 inches in Aberdeen, SD, exceeding their January-February snowfall of 3.1 inches. Significant mid- to late-week snowfall was also observed elsewhere across the northern Plains and Intermountain West, resulting in daily-record totals in locations such as Williston, ND (5.1 inches on March 7), and Salt Lake City, UT (4.6 inches on March 8). Mostly dry weather prevailed in Alaska, where weekly temperatures ranged from as much as 10 degrees F below normal in southeastern portions of the State to more than 10 degrees F above normal across parts of the northwest. High temperatures briefly peaked above 20 degrees F as far north as Barrow, AK. Meanwhile in Hawaii, periodic showers were heaviest across Oahu and portions of the Big Island. The Wilson Tunnel, on Oahu, netted 4.58 inches of rain in a 48-hour period from March 5-7, then received another 3.12 inches in less than 24 hours on March 9-10. Much of the Big Island's heavy rain fell on March 5-6, when 24-hour rainfalls reached 4.93 inches in Laupahoehoe and 3.90 inches in Waiakea Uka. National Agricultural Summary March 4 - 10, 2002 Below-normal temperatures, mainly due to an early-week cold front, limited vegetative growth of winter grains and forages across most of the South and Southwest during the week. Sub-freezing nighttime lows burned the growing tips of small grains, sugarcane, and emerging corn fields along the Gulf Coast. However, the cold weather was beneficial for fruit trees throughout the Southeast, providing additional chill hours before the bloom season arrived. Daytime warmth provided some support for crop development along the Gulf Coast and adjacent interior areas of the southern Great Plains, lower Mississippi Valley, and Southeast, especially after the early-week cold front exited the region. In Florida, the citrus bloom advanced slowly, although the late-week temperature moderation accelerated progress. At week's end, some trees had full open flowers, while many remained in the pinhead and swelling-bud stages. Very few groves have completed petal drop. Fieldwork progressed with few rain interruptions throughout the South, but many soils were too dry for tillage. In the west, the seasonal storm pattern resumed, but the brunt of the storms was centered farther to the south, in northern California's Sierra Mountain range. California's valleys received beneficial precipitation, although the immediate crop response was limited by cool weather. Field and orchard work was only slightly delayed. In the Corn Belt and Great Lakes regions, the passing cold front delivered a mixture of wintery precipitation that provided additional and mostly beneficial moisture reserves. The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released after 12 p.m. ET on March 19, 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). 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). 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