We 1 (3-04) Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released March 30, 2004, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" call Brian T. Young at (202) 720-7621, office hours 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET. National Weather Summary Volume 91, No. 13 March 21 - 27, 2004 For additional information, call (202) 720-2397. Highlights: The mid- to late-week period featured heavy rain across the eastern Plains and much of the Midwest. The rain eased long-term precipitation deficits in the upper Midwest, including the Dakotas and the upper Mississippi Valley, and maintained adequate to locally excessive soil moisture levels in winter wheat areas across the southern and eastern Corn Belt. On the central and northern High Plains, however, only light showers provided little relief to drought-stressed wheat. Meanwhile in Oklahoma, locally heavy rain aided pastures and winter grains but slowed planting preparations. Elsewhere on the southern Plains, including much of Texas, dry weather persisted through a third consecutive week, following highly beneficial rainfall in February and early March. Across the South, warm, dry weather promoted rapid fieldwork, including corn, soybean, sorghum, and rice planting. However, increasingly dry conditions in the Southeast reduced topsoil moisture for pastures, winter grains, and emerging summer crops and contributed to an increase in wildfire activity. Elsewhere, slightly cooler weather overspread the West, accompanied by widespread precipitation in the Northwest and scattered rain and snow showers across the Intermountain region. The Northwestern precipitation slowed fieldwork but benefited winter grains. Across the Plains and Southwest, temperatures averaged generally 8 to 14 degrees F above normal, despite some late-week cooling in the latter region. In contrast, cool weather returned to the Southeast, where scattered frost and temperatures near the freezing mark were reported on March 23 as far south as northernmost Florida. Early in the week, cold air swept into the Great Lakes and Eastern States, accompanied by some snow in the Northeast. March 21-22 snowfall totaled 15.0 inches on Vermont's Jay Peak. On March 22, daily-record lows included -16 degrees F in Marquette, MI, and 14 degrees F in Mansfield, OH. The following day, lows of 5 degrees F in Mt. Pocono, PA, 12 degrees F in Blacksburg, VA, and 23 degrees F in Greensboro, NC, were among more than a dozen daily records. Farther south, March 23 lows dipped to 28 degrees F in Macon, GA, and 30 degrees F in Tallahassee, FL, representative of the cold air that locally damaged Southeastern fruits and vegetables. By week's end, however, much warmer air replaced the Eastern chill, resulting in a few daily-record highs. In Virginia, Roanoke's daily-record high (78 degrees F on March 26) closely followed a daily-record low (21 degrees F on March 23). At least 50 daily-record highs were set or tied from the High Plains westward on each day from March 18-23, boosting the Western total since March 7 to nearly 1,000 records. In addition, monthly record highs were established in several dozen locations, including Las Vegas, NV (92 degrees F on March 21), Cedar City, UT (81 degrees F on March 21), Sedona, AZ (89 degrees F on March 22), and Laramie, WY (70 degrees F on March 22). By midweek, very warm weather returned to the High Plains, where daily-record highs for March 24 in Nebraska included 82 degrees F in North Platte and 80 degrees F near Kimball. Farther south, Pueblo, CO, noted four consecutive record highs (84, 80, 81, and 84 degrees F) from March 23-26. By week's end, however, record warmth was briefly replaced by cooler weather and scattered precipitation across the western half of the Nation. On March 25, daily-record totals in Washington included 0.24 inch in Omak and 0.40 inch in Wenatchee. A day later, record totals were reported in locations such as Pocatello, ID (0.52 inch), and Salt Lake City, UT (0.57 inch). Alta, UT, in the Wasatch Range, also netted a daily-record total (1.61 inches, including 17.7 inches of snow) for March 26. Late-week precipitation was heavier and more organized across the eastern Plains and much of the Midwest. Daily-record rainfall totals were observed on March 26 in locations such as Columbia, MO (3.93 inches), and Champaign, IL (2.92 inches). A day later, Huron, SD, received 1.52 inches, while Omaha, NE (2.44 inches), experienced its wettest March day on record (2.44 inches), surpassing the standard established with a 2.04-inch total on March 19, 1982. Meanwhile, a severe weather outbreak on March 27 from Oklahoma northward into south-central Nebraska resulted in nearly 100 reports of hail at least three-quarters of an inch in diameter. Farther north, heavy rain and melting snow contributed to widespread lowland flooding in eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota, where the Red River at East Grand Forks climbed 7.8 feet above flood stage on the evening of March 29. In contrast, parts of the Southeast neared the end of a rather dry 6-month spell. For the 180-day period from October 1, 2003 - March 28, 2004, precipitation totaled 12.33 inches (48 percent of normal) in Charlotte, NC; 16.46 inches (57 percent) in Greenville-Spartanburg, SC; and 17.23 inches (61 percent) in Athens, GA. Cold weather overspread most of Alaska, holding weekly temperatures as much as 10 degrees F below normal. On March 26, McGrath notched a daily-record low of -26 degrees F. Mostly dry weather persisted across the majority of the Alaskan mainland and returned to the southern part of the State. March 1-28 precipitation totaled 0.85 inch (144 percent of normal) in Anchorage, including 20.9 inches of snow, but stood at just 0.37 inch (53 percent) in King Salmon and 0.39 inch (52 percent) in McGrath. Meanwhile, torrential rainfall gradually subsided in Hawaii's windward locations. On the Big Island, Hilo netted a daily-record total of 8.94 inches on March 22 en route to a March 21-27 sum of 16.98 inches. It was Hilo's third-wettest March day on record behind 15.66 inches on March 17, 1980, and 9.20 inches on March 31, 1982. On Maui, Kahului received 4.62 inches in 24 hours on March 22-23, boosting its month-to-date rainfall to 8.50 inches (397 percent of normal). National Agricultural Summary March 22 - 28, 2004 Highlights: Above-normal temperatures prevailed across most of the Nation. Average temperatures for the week were 6 degrees Fahrenheit or more above normal across the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, and Southwest, with some areas exceeding normal temperatures by 12 degrees Fahrenheit. Only in parts of the Southeast and New England were temperatures below normal. Precipitation was moderate to heavy across the western and central Corn Belt, benefiting development and condition of small grains. The eastern and northern parts of the Corn Belt had light but widespread rainfall, though not enough to hamper fieldwork. Light to moderate precipitation in the eastern Great Plains provided some needed moisture for winter wheat, but the High Plains remained mostly dry. In the Mississippi Delta and Southeast, the lack of rainfall provided good fieldwork conditions but caused moisture stress for crops and pastures. Light precipitation fell across most of the northern and central Rocky Mountains, while dry conditions prevailed across the Southwest. Moderate precipitation in coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest and lighter rainfall further inland ended a 2-week period of unusually dry weather for the region. In Georgia, where muddy fields were a problem just 3 weeks ago, producers are now worried about the lack of rainfall. Many growers are waiting for rain to plant summer crops. Frost early in the week damaged some vegetable crops and fruit orchards. Florida row crop producers were irrigating dry soils to facilitate land preparation. Citrus growers were reporting abundant new growth, and vegetable planting and harvesting continued at a normal pace. Small grain conditions improved in Texas from the previous week's rainfall. Seedings of corn, cotton, sorghum, and soybeans advanced ahead of normal while rice planting and winter wheat heading were behind the normal pace. Cotton was 40 percent planted in Arizona, and vegetable and citrus growers harvested a variety of crops. California sugarbeets showed rapid growth, while planting of corn and cotton continued. Soil moisture was well below normal in Colorado, and winter wheat was in poor condition. Sugarbeet planting was ahead of normal, while small grain seedings were near the normal pace. Planting of small grains was ahead of the normal pace in Wyoming. In South Dakota, planting of spring wheat, barley, and oats was underway, while 74 percent of the winter wheat crop had broken dormancy. Louisiana corn growers took advantage of the dry weather by planting 45 percent of their crop during the week, to bring the total progress to 80 percent complete. The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released after 12 p.m. ET on April 6, 2004. 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. 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