We 1 (4-07) Weekly Weather And Crop Bulletin National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released April 10, 2007, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" call Theresa Holland at (202) 720-7621, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. National Weather Summary April 1 - 7, 2007 Highlights: In a stunning reversal from March, unusually cold air settled across areas from the Plains to the East Coast, threatening jointing to heading winter wheat, blooming fruits, and emerged corn on April 7-8. Despite lingering warmth in early April, weekly temperatures were below normal from the Plains to the Appalachians and averaged at least 10 to 15 degrees F below normal across the northern Plains and the upper Midwest. In contrast, warmth returned to the West, where weekly readings averaged more than 10 degrees F above normal in many locations from California eastward into Utah and Arizona. The return of Western warmth brought renewed melting of high-elevation snow packs. Prospects for spring and summer runoff remained bleak, except in portions of the Northwest and central and southern Rockies. Farther east, patchy snow accompanied the arrival of sharply colder weather. In most cases, however, snow was insufficient to provide jointing to heading winter wheat with protection from the late-week chill, which resulted in temperatures of 15 to 20 degrees F across the northern half of Kansas and near 25 degrees F as far south as the southern High Plains. Nevertheless, winter wheat is a notoriously resilient crop, and damage assessments could take weeks, since post-freeze weather can be an important factor in determining the final outcome. Meanwhile, the return of cold, wet weather to the Midwest further delayed pre-planting fieldwork and increased livestock stress. Advances in fieldwork were mostly confined to drier areas of the southwestern Corn Belt, including Missouri. At week's end, temperatures near 20 degrees F were reported across the southern Corn Belt, threatening jointing wheat. Elsewhere, a late-week freeze also struck the South, adversely affecting a variety of crops. Heading winter wheat, emerged corn, and blooming fruits were all highly vulnerable to the cold weather, which resulted in readings as low as 20 degrees F across the interior South . Only Florida and the western and central Gulf Coast regions completely escaped the freeze. However, another persistent concern was Southern drought, which intensified in the Atlantic coastal plain. Showers in advance of the cold outbreak provided some minor drought relief across the remainder of the South. Farther north, late-season snow blanketed portions of the Great Lakes and Northeastern States. During the first half of the week, chilly weather in the Northwest contrasted with record warmth across the eastern half of the Nation. Yakima, WA, opened the month with consecutive daily-record lows (20 and 22 degrees F) on April 1-2. Additional Northwestern daily-record lows on April 3 included 25 degrees F in Olympia, WA, and 27 degrees F in Hillsboro, OR. Meanwhile, Eastern daily-record highs for April 3 included 80 degrees F in Cleveland, OH, and 85 degrees F in both Jackson, TN, and Greenwood, MS. A day later, Brunswick, GA (90 degrees F) posted a daily-record high for April 4. After midweek, a sudden reversal in conditions brought warmth to the West and a record-setting cold snap from the Plains to the East Coast. Daily-record highs for April 5 reached 89 degrees F in Redding, CA, and 68 degrees F in Astoria, OR. Astoria's high followed a daily-record low (30 degrees F on April 3) by 2 days. The Northwestern warm spell peaked on April 6 with a daily-record high of 78 degrees F in Seattle, WA. The storm partially responsible for the pattern change arrived across the north-central U.S. on April 2, when daily-record snowfall totals included 9.0 inches in Stanford, MT, and 2.3 inches in Aberdeen, SD. A day later, Duluth, MN (12.1 inches), received its heaviest 1-day snowfall in April, previously set with a 11.6-inch total on April 14, 1983. By midweek, heavy precipitation shifted into the South and East, where record rainfall totals for April 4 reached 1.70 inches in Galveston, TX, and 1.26 inches in Philadelphia, PA. Meanwhile, Marquette, MI, endured 48.5 inches of snow from April 3-8, greatly aided by a 24.0-inch total on April 4. Farther east, April 4-5 snowfall totaled 11.6 inches in Portland, ME, representing its highest April storm total since April 6-7, 1982, when 15.9 inches fell. Elsewhere in Maine, Bangor received 15.0 inches of snow from the 2-day storm. Toward week's end, cold air expanded across most areas east of the Rockies. By April 7, Asheville, NC (20 degrees F), broke its monthly record of 22 degrees F, set on April 1, 1987. Muscle Shoals, AL, posted a daily-record low of 26 degrees F, just 4 days after a daily record-tying high of 87 degrees F on April 3. In Arkansas, N. Little Rock tied its monthly record first set on April 6, 1982. It was also N. Little Rock's first April freeze since April 4, 1987. Farther north and west, lows dipped to 6 degrees F on April 6 in South Dakota locations such as Rapid City and Aberdeen. Daily-record lows for April 7 included 14 degrees F in McCook, NE, 16 degrees F in Des Moines, IA, and 19 degrees F in Quincy, IL. A day later, Concordia, KS, set a record for its latest spring reading of 15 degrees F or below, previously set with a low of 14 degrees F on April 3, 1975. Some snow accompanied and trailed the arrival of cold weather. For example, North Platte, NE, received a daily-record snowfall (4.9 inches) on April 5, followed by consecutive daily-record lows (13 and 8 degrees F) on April 6-7. A day later in Kentucky, snowfall records for April 6 included 1.4 inches in Jackson and 0.8 inch in Lexington. At week's end, nearly unprecedented April snow fell across the Deep South. Waco, TX, received 3.5 inches, most of which fell on April 7. It was Waco's heaviest April snow on record and first April observance of snow since April 2, 1992. Incredibly, it was also Waco's heaviest snow during any month in more than 25 years, since 6.0 inches fell on January 13, 1982. Elsewhere in Texas, Dallas-Ft. Worth only netted a trace, but it was the first April appearance of snow there since April 7-8, 1938. Farther east, 1.0 inch of snow blanketed Richmond, VA, and Salisbury, MD, on April 7. In San Angelo, TX, temperatures remained at or below 32 degrees F for 29 consecutive hours on April 7-8, shattering its former April standard of 10 hours in a row set on April 13, 1957. Elsewhere in Texas, Lubbock had its first-ever April high below the freezing mark on April 7, when the maximum of 31 degrees F edged its April standard of 33 degrees F (set on April 12, 1957). By April 8, at least a dozen monthly record lows were tied or broken across the nation's southeastern quadrant. Joplin, MO (19 degrees F), tied a monthly record first established on April 13, 1957, then matched on April 3, 1975. Monthly record lows dipped to 21 degrees F in locations such as Jackson, TN, Paducah, KY, and Charlotte, NC. Charlotte's former April record of 24 degrees F had stood since April 1, 1923. Farther south, Jacksonville, FL (31 degrees F), experienced its first April freeze on record. Jacksonville's former latest spring freeze had occurred on March 31, 1964. Unusually cool, dry weather prevailed in Hawaii. On Maui, Kahului posted consecutive daily-record lows on April 5-6, with readings of 57 degrees F both days. Before early-week showers subsided, Honokaa (on the Big Island) netted 1.76 inches of rain in a 24-hour period on April 1-2. Farther north, Alaska's long-running cold spell broke, helping to boost weekly temperatures 10 to 15 degrees F above normal across the western half of the mainland. In fact, Alaskan daily-record highs included 51 degrees F (on April 6) in McGrath and 58 degrees F (on April 7) in Eagle. Cool, wet weather lingered, however, in southeastern Alaska, where daily-record precipitation totals for April 6 included 3.22 inches in Ketchikan and 2.23 inches in Port Alexander. National Weather Summary provided by USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board. For more information, call (202) 720-2397. National Agricultural Summary April 2 - 8, 2007 Winter returned to most of the country east of the Rocky Mountains during the week. Unseasonably cold temperatures spread across the Great Plains through the upper and middle Mississippi Valley and into the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley, where the previous week's weather was unseasonably warm. Weekly average temperatures were as much as 10 to 15 degrees F below normal across the northern Plains and upper Mississippi Valley, and dipped to 5 to 10 degrees F below normal further south. In the Delta and most of the Southeast, average temperatures were near normal, as overnight lows plummeted below freezing late in the week over much of these regions. Variable precipitation fell across much of the northern Plains, as well as from the western and central Gulf Coast northward to the Great Lakes and into the Northeast. Accumulations in excess of 2 inches were recorded along the central Gulf Coast and in the Northeast. The cold weather, along with continued soggy field conditions throughout much of the Corn Belt, limited field work opportunities to 1 or 2 days across the northern third of the country. In stark contrast, California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona experienced temperatures averaging 5 to 15 degrees F above normal for the week with no precipitation. Corn: Three percent of the intended corn acreage was planted by week's end, the same as last year but 1 percentage point behind the 5-year average. In the Corn Belt, only Missouri farmers had made any significant planting progress with 12 percent of their crop in the ground, slightly behind last year and average. Texas farmers were about on schedule with 59 percent planted, while farmers in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee were well-ahead of last year and average with 26, 39, and 47 percent planted, respectively. Warm, dry weather during March allowed farmers in the Delta, Southeast and Tennessee Valley to begin planting much earlier and at a faster pace than usual. Winter Wheat: Six percent of the winter wheat crop had advanced to the heading stage, slightly ahead of the 4 percent last year and the 3 percent average. Heading was well-underway in the southern Great Plains, where the crops in Texas and Oklahoma stood at 16 and 13 percent headed, respectively. While not yet reaching the heading stage, the crop in Kansas was progressing well-ahead of normal, leaving it vulnerable to the week's sub-freezing temperatures. The effects of the cold snap over much of the eastern two-thirds of the country were reflected in a slight decline in winter wheat condition ratings. Still, 64 percent of the crop was rated in good to excellent condition, compared with 71 percent last week and 41 percent last year. Cotton: Planting was on pace with last year and average with 7 percent of the cotton crop in the ground. Texas producers had planted 11 percent of their acreage, 3 points behind normal. Warm, dry conditions encouraged early planting efforts in California, where 43 percent of the crop was already in the ground, well-ahead of schedule. Planting was 17 percent complete in Arizona, and was just getting underway in Mississippi and Alabama. Sorghum: Planting was on pace with last year and 3 points ahead of normal, with 17 percent of the intended sorghum crop in the ground. Seeding in Texas advanced to 52 percent complete, 10 points ahead of normal. In Arkansas and Louisiana, growers made good progress, advancing well-ahead of normal to 36 and 39 percent, respectively. Planting was just underway in Oklahoma and Missouri, and had not yet begun elsewhere. Rice: Planting advanced to 22 percent complete, ahead of last year's 18 percent and the 16 percent average. Progress was most advanced in Louisiana where 51 percent was planted, about on schedule. In Texas, progress, at 42 percent, lagged well-behind last year and average. Planting in Arkansas and Mississippi was ahead of normal at 25 and 15 percent, respectively, while 5 percent of Missouri's crop was in the ground. Planting had not yet begun in California. Meanwhile, 7 percent of the crop had emerged, slightly ahead of normal. Twenty-six percent of Louisiana's crop and 20 percent of Texas' crop had emerged, but elsewhere emergence was 5 percent or less. Small Grains: Spring wheat planting advanced only 1 point during the week to 4 percent complete, compared with 3 percent last year and 7 percent for the 5-year average. Barley seeding advanced 8 points to 15 percent complete, 10 points ahead of last year and 6 points ahead of normal. Idaho farmers were planting both crops well-ahead of their normal pace, while Montana farmers were making normal progress. Washington and South Dakota farmers were somewhat behind in their planting efforts, while in Minnesota and North Dakota, growers had not yet begun planting either crop. Thirty-one percent of the Nation's oat crop had been planted, 2 points behind last year and 7 points behind the 5-year average. Spring planting was underway in all States except Minnesota and North Dakota. Nebraska growers were farthest ahead with 32 percent planted, ahead of last year but lagging behind their normal pace. Iowa growers also lagged well-behind their normal pace with only 9 percent in the ground. Other Crops: Sugarbeet growers had planted 11 percent of their acreage, ahead of last year's 2 percent and the 7 percent average. Idaho growers got a jump on the season with 60 percent of their crop already in the ground, well-ahead of last year's rain-delayed 8 percent and their 34 percent average. Progress in Michigan, at 6 percent, lagged 6 points behind normal. Planting had not yet begun in the Red River Valley. Corn: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 2002- State:Apr 8, :Apr 1, :Apr 8, : 2006 : 2007 : 2007 : 2006 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : CO : 1 NA 0 0 IL : 0 NA 0 3 IN : 0 NA 0 1 IA : 0 NA 0 0 KS : 2 NA 6 8 KY : 26 NA 13 13 MI : 0 NA 0 1 MN : 0 NA 0 0 MO : 12 NA 15 19 NE : 0 NA 0 0 NC : 39 NA 31 20 ND : 0 NA 0 0 OH : 1 NA 0 0 PA : 0 NA 1 0 SD : 0 NA 0 0 TN : 47 NA 15 23 TX : 59 NA 63 60 WI : 0 NA 0 0 : 18 Sts: 3 NA 3 4 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 18 States planted 93% of last year's corn acreage. Winter Wheat: Percent Headed, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 2002- State:Apr 8, :Apr 1, :Apr 8, : 2006 : 2007 : 2007 : 2006 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 44 NA 14 5 CA : 58 NA 40 50 CO : 0 NA 0 0 ID : 0 NA 0 0 IL : 0 NA 0 0 IN : 0 NA 0 0 KS : 0 NA 0 0 MI : 0 NA 0 0 MO : 0 NA 0 0 MT : 0 NA 0 0 NE : 0 NA 0 0 NC : 6 NA 3 4 OH : 0 NA 0 0 OK : 13 NA 8 3 OR : 0 NA 0 0 SD : 0 NA 0 0 TX : 16 NA 15 11 WA : 0 NA 0 0 : 18 Sts: 6 NA 4 3 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 18 States planted 92% of last year's winter wheat acreage. Cotton: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 2002- State:Apr 8, :Apr 1, :Apr 8, : 2006 : 2007 : 2007 : 2006 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AL : 2 NA 1 2 AZ : 17 NA 14 15 AR : 0 NA 0 0 CA : 43 NA 0 16 GA : 0 NA 1 1 KS : 0 NA 0 0 LA : 0 NA 3 2 MS : 1 NA 1 0 MO : 0 NA 0 0 NC : 0 NA 0 0 OK : 0 NA 0 0 SC : 0 NA 0 1 TN : 0 NA 0 0 TX : 11 NA 16 14 VA : 0 NA 0 0 : 15 Sts: 7 NA 7 7 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 15 States planted 99% of last year's cotton acreage. Sorghum: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 2002- State:Apr 8, :Apr 1, :Apr 8, : 2006 : 2007 : 2007 : 2006 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 36 27 15 11 CO : 0 0 0 0 IL : 0 0 0 0 KS : 0 0 0 0 LA : 39 26 23 14 MO : 2 2 1 0 NE : 0 0 0 0 NM : 0 0 0 0 OK : 2 0 1 1 SD : 0 0 0 0 TX : 52 49 53 42 : 11 Sts: 17 16 17 14 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 11 States planted 97% of last year's sorghum acreage. Rice: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 2002- State:Apr 8, :Apr 1, :Apr 8, : 2006 : 2007 : 2007 : 2006 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 25 17 13 11 CA : 0 0 0 0 LA : 51 36 52 52 MS : 15 4 5 6 MO : 5 4 13 4 TX : 42 31 71 57 : 6 Sts : 22 15 18 16 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 6 States planted 100% of last year's rice acreage. Rice: Percent Emerged, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 2002- State:Apr 8, :Apr 1, :Apr 8, : 2006 : 2007 : 2007 : 2006 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 5 NA 0 0 CA : 0 NA 0 0 LA : 26 NA 28 28 MS : 3 NA 0 0 MO : 0 NA 0 0 TX : 20 NA 52 33 : 6 Sts : 7 NA 6 5 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 6 States planted 100% of last year's rice acreage. Spring Wheat: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 2002- State:Apr 8, :Apr 1, :Apr 8, : 2006 : 2007 : 2007 : 2006 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : ID : 46 25 6 27 MN : 0 0 0 1 MT : 5 4 2 3 ND : 0 0 0 2 SD : 5 5 14 20 WA : 40 28 38 54 : 6 Sts : 4 3 3 7 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 6 States planted 99% of last year's spring wheat acreage. Barley: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 2002- State:Apr 8, :Apr 1, :Apr 8, : 2006 : 2007 : 2007 : 2006 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : ID : 51 20 6 20 MN : 0 0 0 1 MT : 10 9 7 10 ND : 0 0 0 0 WA : 33 12 28 35 : 5 Sts : 15 7 5 9 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 5 States planted 78% of last year's barley acreage. Oats: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 2002- State:Apr 8, :Apr 1, :Apr 8, : 2006 : 2007 : 2007 : 2006 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : IA : 9 5 17 40 MN : 0 0 0 5 NE : 32 15 25 44 ND : 0 0 0 1 OH : 10 3 15 10 PA : 10 4 28 16 SD : 4 4 11 17 TX : 100 100 100 100 WI : 1 0 2 7 : 9 Sts : 31 29 33 38 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 9 States planted 67% of last year's oat acreage. Oats: Percent Emerged, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 2002- State:Apr 8, :Apr 1, :Apr 8, : 2006 : 2007 : 2007 : 2006 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : IA : 0 NA 0 2 MN : 0 NA 0 0 NE : 6 NA 3 7 ND : 0 NA 0 0 OH : 0 NA 1 1 PA : 0 NA 4 2 SD : 0 NA 1 1 TX : 100 NA 100 100 WI : 0 NA 0 0 : 9 Sts : 28 NA 28 28 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 9 States planted 67% of last year's oat acreage. Sugarbeets: Percent Planted, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 2002- State:Apr 8, :Apr 1, :Apr 8, : 2006 : 2007 : 2007 : 2006 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : ID : 60 NA 8 34 MI : 6 NA 7 12 MN : 0 NA 0 0 ND : 0 NA 0 0 : 4 Sts : 11 NA 2 7 -------------------------------------- 1/ These 4 States planted 81% of last year's sugarbeet acreage. Winter Wheat: Crop Condition by Percent, Selected States Week Ending Apr 8, 2007 -------------------------------------- State : VP : P : F : G : EX -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 0 11 35 36 18 CA : 2 2 8 48 40 CO : 3 4 16 32 45 ID : 0 1 9 86 4 IL : 2 11 31 49 7 IN : 2 12 35 45 6 KS : 6 10 29 37 18 MI : 1 8 19 38 34 MO : 3 10 41 40 6 MT : 1 4 27 54 14 NE : 2 4 34 52 8 NC : 13 4 26 50 7 OH : 6 17 37 33 7 OK : 2 5 20 50 23 OR : 0 0 25 70 5 SD : 1 7 41 44 7 TX : 1 5 25 44 25 WA : 2 4 20 63 11 : 18 Sts : 3 7 26 45 19 : Prev Wk : 1 5 23 51 20 Prev Yr : 14 16 29 35 6 -------------------------------------- VP-Very Poor, P-Poor, F-Fair, G-Good, EX-Excellent. National crop conditions for selected States are weighted based on 2006 planted acres. Crop Progress and Condition Survey and Estimating Procedures Survey Procedures: Crop progress and condition estimates are based on survey data collected each week from early April through the end of November. The non-probability crop progress and condition surveys include input from more than 5,000 reporters whose occupations provide them opportunities to make visual observations and frequently bring them in contact with farmers in their counties. Based on standard definitions, these reporters subjectively estimate progress of farmers' activities and progress of crops through various stages of development. They also provide subjective evaluations of crop conditions. Most reporters complete their questionnaires on Friday or early Monday morning and submit them to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Field Offices in their States by mail, telephone, fax, e-mail, or through a secured internet website. A small number of reports are completed on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Regardless of when questionnaires are completed, reporters are asked to report for the week ending on Sunday. For reports submitted prior to the Sunday reference date, a degree of uncertainty is introduced by projections for weekend changes in progress and condition. By the end of the 2001 season, nearly two-thirds of the data were being submitted through the internet website. As a result, about one-half of all data are submitted on Monday morning, significantly reducing projection uncertainty. Reporters are sent written reporting instructions at the beginning of each season and are contacted periodically to ensure proper reporting. Terms and definitions of crop stages and condition categories used as reporting guidelines are available on the NASS website at: www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/National_Crop_Progress/terms_definit ions.asp. Estimating Procedures: Reported data are reviewed for reasonableness and consistency by comparing with data reported the previous week and data reported in surrounding counties for the current week. Each State Field Office summarizes the reported data to district and State levels, weighting each county's reported data by NASS county acreage estimates. Summarized indications are compared with previous week estimates, and progress items are compared with earlier stages of development and historical averages to ensure reasonableness. Weather events and reporter comments are also taken into consideration. State estimates are submitted to the Agricultural Statistics Board (ASB) along with supporting comments, where they are compared with surrounding States and compiled into a National level summary by weighting each State by its acreage estimates. Revision Policy: Progress and condition estimates in the Crop Progress report are released after 4:00 pm ET on the first business day of the week. These estimates are preliminary and subject to corrections or updates in the Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin that is released after 12:00 pm ET on the second business day of the week. These estimates are subject to revision the following week. Crop Progress and Condition tables expected next week: Barley - Planted Corn - Planted Cotton - Planted Oats - Planted, Emerged Rice - Planted, Emerged Sorghum - Planted Spring Wheat - Planted Sugarbeets - Planted Winter Wheat - Headed, Condition 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. E-MAIL SUBSCRIPTION All NASS reports are available by subscription free of charge direct to your e-mail address. Starting with the NASS Home Page at www.nass.usda.gov, under the right navigation, Receive reports by Email, click on National or State. 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