We 1 (12-02) Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released December 24, 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. 52 December 15 - 21, 2002 For additional information, call (202) 720-2397. Highlights: Stormy weather continued for much of the week in the West Coast States, boosting mountain snow packs and further improving soil moisture reserves for pastures and winter grains. Less significant storminess was observed east of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada, where drought-stressed rangelands and reduced irrigation reserves remained symptoms of long-term precipitation deficits. Meanwhile, mostly dry weather prevailed on the Plains, accompanied by a gradual return to cold weather across northern portions of the region. Although some snow fell in the Dakotas, a patchy snow cover offered little protection for the northern High Plains' winter wheat, which was exposed to temperatures as low as 0 degrees F. Despite the late-week chill, the Plains' weekly temperatures averaged generally 5 to 15 degrees F above normal. Mild weather (6 to 18 degrees F above normal) also prevailed in the Corn Belt. Widespread rainfall slowed off-season fieldwork from the middle Mississippi Valley eastward to the lower Great Lakes region, but the lack of a substantial snow cover and above-normal temperatures provided mostly favorable conditions for upper Midwestern livestock. Farther south, another moisture-laden storm system soaked the Delta, where some locations received rainfall totaling 4 inches or more. In addition, locally strong to severe thunderstorms were reported from December 17-19 in areas from the Ozark Plateau to the central Gulf Coast States. At week's end, many fields from the western Gulf Coast region to the Atlantic Coast remained muddy due to persistent rainfall that has significantly curtailed autumn fieldwork. Warm weather resulted in more than 50 daily-record highs across the Plains and upper Midwest from December 15-18, but was followed by near- to below-normal temperatures by week's end. On December 15, high soared to daily-record levels in locations such as Topeka, KS (70 degrees F), Grand Island, NE (67 degrees F), and Atlantic, IA (64 degrees F). Two days later, record highs in Texas included 79 degrees F in Wichita Falls and 78 degrees F in Midland. In Missouri, Joplin posted consecutive record highs (68 and 69 degrees F) on December 17-18. Toward week's end, warmth briefly spread into the East, where Raleigh-Durham, NC (67 degrees F), and Providence, RI (60 degrees F), collected daily-record highs. Heavy rain accompanied the surge of warmth across the South, Midwest, and East from December 18-20, resulting in many daily-record rainfall totals. On December 18, records included 2.44 inches in Longview, TX, and 2.02 inches in Peoria, IL. Peoria's storm-total rainfall, 2.04 inches on December 17-18, followed their driest September-November period on record (2.92 inches, or 34 percent of normal) and surpassed their 1.55-inch total during the preceding 73 days (October 5 - December 16). On December 19, totals of 3.90 inches in Jackson, TN, and 2.44 inches in Louisville, KY, exceeded daily records from 1957. A day later, record totals in the East included 1.40 inches in Bangor, ME, and 1.35 inches in Bridgeport, CT. The storm was an unusually warm system for December, with only a brief period of freezing rain on its northern fringe and snow confined mostly to the upper Midwest. Weekly snowfall in North Dakota totaled 6.0 inches in Fargo and 4.2 inches in Bismarck. Farther south, approximately 20 tornadoes struck a 5-State area from December 17-19, according to preliminary information from the Storm Prediction Center. On the first 2 days of the severe weather event, tornado fatalities in Missouri (two) and Arkansas (one) represented the Nation's worst December outbreak since 12 people perished in Alabama on December 16, 2000. Meanwhile, dry weather persisted across most of the Plains. December 21 marked the 37th consecutive day without measurable precipitation in Kansas City, MO, tying their second-longest such streak on record (December 11, 1955 - January 16, 1956). Kansas City's longest dry spell on record was 40 days from December 17, 1922 - January 25, 1923. Meanwhile in Colorado, Denver's year-to-date precipitation remained at 7.48 inches, just shy of their lowest annual total on record (7.51 inches in 1954). Farther west, Yuma, AZ, received 0.03 inch on December 20, their first measurable rainfall since December 4, 2001. Season-to-date rainfall (since July 1) climbed to 5.58 inches in downtown Los Angeles, CA, surpassing their record-low annual total of 4.42 inches (29 percent of normal) during the season ending June 30, 2002. Elsewhere in California, San Francisco (airport) noted daily-record rainfalls on 3 of 4 days (2.47 inches on December 13, 0.88 inch on December 14, and 2.10 inches on December 16). During a 120-hour period ending on December 18, rainfall topped 20 inches at a few locations in California's Shasta Mountains, including Clear Creek (21.04 inches) and Brandy Creek (20.76 inches). Sierra Nevada snowfall during the same 5-day period reached or exceeded 100 inches at Kirkwood and several other sites. Farther east, 48-hour (December 16-18) snowfall in Utah included 31 inches in Alta and 4 inches in Cedar City. Flagstaff, AZ, noted a daily-record amount of 7.2 inches on December 18 en route to a storm-total snowfall of 11.8 inches. Cooler weather overspread the West as the storminess departed. In Utah on December 19, Bryce Canyon National Park posted a daily-record low of -9 degrees F. Generally light showers were observed on Hawaii. Some of the higher weekly totals on the Big Island included 2.02 inches in Pahoa and 1.58 inches in Piihonua, while 1.08 inches fell in Hanalei, Kauai. Meanwhile, Alaskan temperatures were above normal for the thirteenth consecutive week, but were markedly lower than earlier in the month. Weekly readings were as much as 7 degrees F above normal in western parts of the State. On December 20, the low of -11 degrees F in Fairbanks, AK, represented their latest first reading of -10 degrees F or lower, breaking their 1979 record by 13 days. Through December 21, season-to-date snowfall in Alaska totaled 3.1 inches in Yakutat, compared with 88.3 inches by this time last year, while Juneau netted just 0.7 inch. Juneau's normal July 1 - December 21 snowfall is 26.6 inches. National Agricultural Summary December 16 - 22, 2002 Above-normal temperatures supported development of winter grains, although many winter wheat fields in the central and northern High Plains and lower Great Lakes region were dormant. In the central Great Plains and Ohio River Valley, many fields were green and root development remained active, but vegetative growth was virtually undetectable. In the southern Great Plains, lower Mississippi Valley, and Southeast, favorably warm weather stimulated winter grain and forage growth most of the week. Favorably drier weather benefited development of winter crops in the southern Great Plains and along the Atlantic Coastal Plain, but interior areas of the Mississippi Delta and Southeast were unfavorably wet. In Florida's citrus belt, some groves along both coasts had standing water in ditches with no drainage available. In the Pacific Northwest, a stormy weather pattern persisted along the coast, producing heavy coastal rain and mountain snowfall that boosted irrigation water reserves. In the interior Pacific Northwest, precipitation was spotty and uneven and subsoils remained unfavorably dry. In California, wet weather interrupted field and orchard work in the valleys and heavy snow boosted irrigation reserves in the mountains. Some low-lying fields had standing water, but forages and emerged small grains produced vigorous growth and recently planted crops quickly emerged. Strong winds damaged some fruit and nut trees, and in the southern valleys, below-normal temperatures hindered development of some vegetable crops. The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released after 12 p.m. ET on December 31, 2002. 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