We 1 (1-03) Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released January 22, 2003, 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 90, No. 3 January 12 - 18, 2003 For additional information, call (202) 720-2397. Highlights: A cold, mostly dry weather pattern deepened across the eastern half of the Nation. By week's end, frosts and freezes affected areas as far south as Louisiana's sugarcane areas, where last year's crop was mostly harvested, and the northern part of Florida's citrus belt. In central and interior southern Florida, temperatures near or slightly below the freezing mark (32 degrees F) on the mornings of January 18, 19, and 20 were not low enough to cause significant harm to citrus, but necessitated the use of protective measures for some other winter crops. Weekly temperatures averaged as much as 12 degrees F below normal in Florida and ranged from 8 to 16 degrees F below normal from the Ohio Valley into northern New England. Although cold weather limited evaporation from still-soggy Southern fields, the region benefited from a second consecutive week of mostly dry weather. Meanwhile in the Midwest, mostly dry conditions and frozen fields continued to favor off-season activities, but cold weather maintained stress on livestock. Temperatures as low as -20 degrees F were noted across the western Corn Belt. On the Plains, light snow from Montana to eastern Kansas provided winter wheat with some protection from temperatures as low as -20 degrees F. Although mild weather (readings up to 6 degrees F above normal) continued on the drought-affected central High Plains, the wheat crop remained exposed to potential weather extremes. Meanwhile, soil moisture was adequate in northern California and parts of the Northwest, but mild (temperatures up to 12 degrees F above normal), unfavorably dry conditions persisted elsewhere in the West. Drought effects from the Southwest to the Rockies included meager mountain snow packs, severely stressed rangelands, and below-normal reservoir levels. Precipitation diminished across the West Coast States early in the week, although Redding, CA (1.49 inches), collected a daily-record rainfall on January 12. Mild, mostly dry weather prevailed in the West thereafter, resulting in more than two dozen daily-record highs. On January 13, downtown Sacramento, CA (65 degrees F), registered a record high for the date, while Wells, NV (57 and 55 degrees F), posted their first of two consecutive daily records. Later in the week, El Cajon, CA (84 degrees F on January 16 and 83 degrees F on January 17) also tallied consecutive record highs. Farther east, beneficial precipitation developed across portions of the northern and central Plains. Bozeman, MT, measured 0.71 inch on January 14, breaking their daily precipitation record for January (previously, 0.56 inch on January 7, 1962). A day later, snowfall in South Dakota included 10.0 inches in Pierre and 5.5 inches in Kennebec. On January 16, precipitation (melted snow) totaled 0.03 inch in St. Joseph, MO, Olathe, KS, and downtown Kansas City, MO, ending the locations' spells without measurable precipitation at 62 days (November 15 - January 15). Snow also overspread the interior South on January 16, resulting in a 7-inch snowfall in Nashville, TN. It was Nashville's fifth-greatest daily snowfall on record, and highest daily total since 8.7 inches fell on March 19, 1996. Although Indianapolis, IN, received only 2 inches from the storm, their season-to-date snowfall (19.0 inches through January 16) was the highest since 21.1 inches during the same period in 1998-99. Farther east, 4.5 inches of snow blanketed Richmond, VA, on January 16-17. In the storm's wake, the coldest air of the season swept into the South and East. In New York, Binghamton's longest spell on record without a temperature below 0 degrees F (nearly 3 years from January 23, 2000 - January 16, 2002) ended with a low of -4 degrees F on January 17. Atlantic City, NJ (4 degrees F on January 18), experienced their lowest reading since a minimum of 4 degrees F on January 22, 2000, while Allentown, PA (1 degree F on January 18), had their lowest temperature in almost 6 years (1 degree F on January 19, 1997). Elsewhere on Saturday, lows included -34 degrees F in Saranac Lake, NY, and -32 degrees F in Allagash, ME. Although no daily-record lows were set in Florida due to competition from similarly timed severe cold outbreaks in 1977, 1985, and other years, light freezes were common as far south as central parts of the peninsula. For example, January 18-20 lows in Ft. Pierce, FL, were 35, 31, and 31 degrees F. On the northern fringe of Florida's winter crop areas in Lake County, Umatilla measured January 18-20 lows of 27, 27, and 31 degrees F. Key West, FL, recorded a high of 57 degrees F on January 18, their lowest maximum temperature since the 1989 cold wave (54 degrees F on December 25, 1989). Farther north, daily-record lows on January 18 included 14 degrees F in Augusta, GA, 10 degrees F in Charlotte, NC, and -14 degrees F in Elkins, WV. In Virginia, Richmond's high temperature of 25 degrees F on January 18 was their lowest since a maximum of 21 degrees F on January 5, 1996. Meanwhile, cold air continued to pour across the Midwest at week's end, where Indianapolis (-2 degrees F on January 19) recorded their lowest temperature since a minimum of -5 degrees F on December 25, 2000. A cold front crossed Hawaii, holding temperatures as much as 2 degrees F below normal and producing scattered, locally heavy showers from Kauai to Maui. Kokee, Kauai, received 2.56 inches in a 24-hour period on January 14-15. Elsewhere on Kauai, Lihue posted a daily-record low of 54 degrees F on January 16. The following day, records included 53 degrees F in Kahului, Maui, and 57 degrees F in Honolulu, Oahu. Meanwhile, weekly temperatures ranged from 10 to 20 degrees F above normal across most of western and northern Alaska. King Salmon, AK, noted maximum temperatures of 40 degrees F or higher on 14 consecutive days (January 8-21), including daily-record highs on January 10 (44 degrees F) and 12 (45 degrees F). Significant Alaskan precipitation was again confined to southern portions of the State, where January 1-20 totals included 11.81 inches (219 percent of normal) in Kodiak and 4.80 inches (152 percent) in Juneau. Despite the above-normal precipitation, Juneau's month-to-date snowfall totaled just 2.2 inches (12 percent of normal). National Agricultural Summary January 13 - 19, 2003 Cold and mostly dry weather prevailed across the eastern half of the Nation during the week. Well-below-zero temperatures were noted in the northern Great Plains and Cornbelt, and temperatures at or slightly below freezing were recorded as far south as central Florida, along the Gulf Coast, and into the southern Great Plains. Even though temperatures were at or below freezing in Florida's citrus region, they did not drop low enough and remain below freezing long enough to significantly damage citrus trees or fruit. The cold weather will help hold most citrus trees in a semi-dormant condition and prevent any widespread immediate flushing of new growth. Some damage was seen on vegetable crops and new plantings of sugarcane in the Everglades region. Strawberry growers ran overhead sprinklers to form ice caps on plants as cold protection to save the plants and immature fruit during the colder nights. However, the cold weather provided beneficial chill hours for orchards throughout the Southeast. On the northern Great Plains, light snow provided some protection to the winter wheat crop from the cold weather. Fieldwork was active in the southern Great Plains where conditions allowed and producers braved the cold weather. Above-normal temperatures in the western half of the Nation further stressed moisture reserves in the central High Plains and Southwest. Field and orchard work was active in California, with showers causing slight delays in northern areas of the State. 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