We 1 (1-06) Weekly Weather And Crop Bulletin National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released January 18, 2006, 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 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. National Weather Summary Volume 93, No. 3 January 8 - 14, 2006 For additional information, call (202) 720-2397. Highlights: Persistent storminess across the Northwest contrasted with extremely dry conditions in the Southwest. In between, previously flood-affected areas of California and the western Great Basin received only light precipitation until week's end, when heavier rain and snow arrived. Farther east, warm, windy, mostly dry weather continued on the southern Plains, maintaining the threat of wildfires and severely stressing drought-stricken pastures and winter grains. Only light precipitation fell across the northern and central Plains, where conditions remained mostly favorable for wheat despite recent soil moisture reductions and a gradual loss of the crop's winter hardiness. Weekly temperatures generally averaged 12 to 22 degrees F above normal across the northern Plains and the Corn Belt, and were above normal for the third consecutive week nearly nationwide. Meanwhile, significant precipitation (mostly rain) from the middle Mississippi Valley eastward aggravated muddy conditions for some Midwestern and Northeastern livestock. Elsewhere, two rounds of showers and thunderstorms swept across the South, although only light precipitation fell in most drought-affected areas west of the Delta. In the Southeast, thunderstorms maintained generally favorable soil moisture reserves but caused local wind and hail damage. At week's end, rain changed to snow from the Appalachians into the Northeast. Unusually warm weather continued in many areas for a third consecutive week, resulting in more than 100 additional daily-record highs. On January 8, Waco, TX (82 degrees F), posted its fifth daily-record high since the start of the year. In contrast, lingering cool weather in Florida produced a record low for January 8 in Vero Beach (30 degrees F). A day later, however, daily-record warmth returned to Eastern locations such as Asheville, NC (68 degrees F), and Roanoke, VA (66 degrees F). A new surge of warmth reached the West Coast on January 10 and migrated to the Plains by midweek. In the Pacific Northwest, records for January 10 included 59 degrees F in Pendleton, OR, and 50 degrees F in Spokane, WA. The following day, highs soared to daily-record levels in Lubbock, TX (75 degrees F), and Goodland, KS (70 degrees F). On January 12, record highs were scattered across Southern, Midwestern, and Eastern locations such as Wichita Falls, TX (80 degrees F), New Bern, NC (74 degrees F), and Dubuque, IA (51 degrees F). Atlantic City, NJ (61 degrees F), also collected a record high for January 12, followed by a 4.7-inch snowfall and wind gusts as high as 48 m.p.h. on January 14-15. Toward week's end, warmth made yet another push across the West, contributing record highs for January 13 in Tucson, AZ (78 degrees F), and Reno, NV (62 degrees F). On January 14, Valentine, NE, came within 1 degree F of its monthly record high (72 degrees F on January 12, 1987), while daily records were set or tied at about three dozen locations from the Plains westward, including Rapid City, SD (69 degrees F), and McCook, NE (70 degrees F). The period from December 21 - January 15 was the warmest such period on record in Billings, MT, where the 26-day average temperature of 40.5 degrees F supplanted its 1980-81 standard of 37.0 degrees F. Billings received snowfall totaling just 0.1 inch during the 26-day warm spell, second only to a trace from December 21, 1954 - January 15, 1955. In the West Glacier region of northwestern Montana, however, 24-hour snowfall totals on January 14-15 reached 3 feet at Grave Creek and Flattop Mountain, while 23.5 inches fell at nearby Cool Creek, ID. Farther west, Olympia, WA, observed at least 29 consecutive days (December 18 - January 15) with measurable precipitation, totaling 15.78 inches. Olympia's longest such spell was 33 straight days of rain from January 6 - February 7, 1953. Elsewhere in Washington, Seattle's streak of 27 consecutive days (December 19 - January 14) with measurable rain ended on January 15. Nevertheless, Seattle experienced its wettest 25-day period on record, netting 12.80 inches from December 20 - January 13 (previously, 12.16 inches from November 19 - December 13, 1998). Across the remainder of the Nation, selected daily-record totals included 2.64 inches (on January 10) in Crescent City, CA; 2.17 inches (on January 14) in Bangor, ME; and 1.09 inches (on January 13) in Greenwood, MS. From January 13 into the early hours of the following day, more than a dozen tornadoes were observed from southern Alabama and western Florida into southeastern Virginia. Two tornado-related fatalities were reported--one near Belleville, in Conecuh County, AL, and the other near Baker, in Okaloosa County, FL. Farther north, late-week (January 14-15) wind gusts locally topped 60 m.p.h., while storm-total snowfall exceeded 10 inches at a few locations across the interior Northeast, including parts of western Massachusetts. National Weather Service offices in Mt. Holly, NJ, and Upton, NY, received 5.5 and 4.1 inches of snow, respectively. In contrast, storminess barely dented impressive precipitation deficits across the southern Plains and the Southwest. On January 9-10, snowfall locally in excess of 4 inches blanketed parts of northern and western Oklahoma. Later in the week, Flagstaff, AZ, finally received its first measurable snowfall of the season (0.1 inch) on January 15, more than 1 week after breaking its all-time record of January 7, 1930. Meanwhile, the streak of days without a drop of rain reached 89 days (October 19 - January 15) in Phoenix, AZ, approaching its September 1999 - January 2000 all-time record of 101 days. In western Texas, Lubbock's spell without measurable precipitation climbed to 80 days (October 28 - January 15), nearing its October 1921 - January 1922 all-time mark of 85 days. During the first 15 days of the year, wildfires charred more than 500,000 acres (approximately 790 square miles) of vegetation nationwide. Most of the fires flared across the South Central United States, although a 5,500-acre blaze was reported in the Nebraska National Forest near Halsey, NE. Much of Hawaii continued to experience warm, drier-than-normal weather. On Kauai, Lihue noted a daily record-tying high of 82 degrees F on January 12. However, month-to-date rainfall through January 15 was less than 15 percent of normal in locations such as Kahului, Maui (0.13 inch, or 7 percent of normal), and Lihue (0.25 inch, or 11 percent). Mostly dry weather also prevailed in Alaska, although bitterly cold air overspread western parts of the State. Weekly temperatures averaged 14 degrees F below normal in Kotzebue, aided by a low of -38 degrees F on January 10. Meanwhile, January 1-15 Alaskan precipitation totals were less than one-tenth of an inch in McGrath (0.07 inch, or 0.49 inch below normal) and Fairbanks (a trace, or 0.30 inch below normal). National Agricultural Summary January 9 - 15, 2006 Highlights: For the third consecutive week, above-normal temperatures prevailed nationwide. Throughout the northern Great Plains and most of the Corn Belt and Ohio Valley, average temperatures exceeded the normal by over 15 degrees Fahrenheit, causing further depletion of protective snow cover in these regions. Dry conditions persisted in the Great Plains and Southwest, further depleting soil moisture. However, moderate precipitation in the upper Delta and eastern Corn Belt was beneficial for winter wheat in those areas. Moderate to heavy precipitation in the Pacific Northwest improved soil moisture in the inland crop producing areas while increasing snowpack in the higher elevations. An outbreak of severe weather across the Southeast and middle Atlantic Coast spawned several reports of tornadoes, hail, and high winds. Warm weather in California has deterred dormancy in fruit trees and caused blooming in some orchards, while lingering wet conditions in some areas caused worsened small grain condition and delayed vegetable harvest. In Texas, winter wheat condition was rated mostly poor to very poor due to extremely warm temperatures and dry, windy conditions. Planting of other small grains was slowed by extremely dry soils. Warm weather in Georgia increased insect activity and the spread of disease in pastures but improved small grain conditions. In Florida, recent cool temperatures slowed vegetable development, but mostly dry weather over the central and southern Peninsula encouraged planting and harvesting. ACCESS TO REPORTS!! For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data products, and services: INTERNET ACCESS All NASS reports are available free of charge on the worldwide Internet. For access, connect to the Internet and go to the NASS Home Page at: www.nass.usda.gov. 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