We 1 (1-08) Weekly Weather And Crop Bulletin National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released January 15, 2008, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" call Dawn Keen at (202) 720-7621, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. National Weather Summary January 6 - 12, 2008 Highlights: Dry weather returned to southern California and the Southwest early in the week, followed by a shift of stormy conditions into the Pacific Northwest. Western water-supply prospects continued to improve due to significant snowfall in December and early January. Meanwhile, mostly dry weather prevailed across the nation's mid-section, except for light snow on the central Plains and a few showers and thunderstorms on the southeastern Plains. Muddy or snowy fields and feedlots maintained stress on some livestock across the central Plains, but little or no snow existed across winter wheat areas of the northern High Plains. Farther east, significant flooding developed across the central Corn Belt, particularly from Illinois to northern Indiana and southern Michigan. Rare January tornadoes also swept across parts of the Corn Belt, while heavy rain soaked areas along and east of line from Missouri to near Lake Michigan. In contrast, the upper Midwest was mostly dry but remained under an extensive blanket of snow. Elsewhere, rain continued to provide Southeastern drought relief, although low lake levels and other hydrological impacts persisted. Winter grains and cool-season pastures benefited from the Southeastern showers, although Florida's peninsula stayed mostly dry. East of the Rockies, temperatures soared for several days during the early- to mid-week period. Weekly temperatures averaged at least 20 degrees F above normal in parts of the Midwest, where several locations reported record highs for January. Temperatures averaged at least 10 degrees F above normal throughout the eastern half of the U.S., except in southern Florida. In contrast, colder-than-normal weather prevailed across much of the Intermountain West. Early in the week, a stunning January warm spell shattered hundreds of daily-record highs and several monthly record highs across the South, East, and lower Midwest. On January 6, daily records included 81 degrees F in Wichita Falls, TX; 80 degrees F in Alexandria, LA; 79 degrees F in Lawton, OK; and 73 degrees F in St. Louis, MO. A day later, January record highs were established in several locations, including Chicago, IL (65 degrees F; previously 63 degrees F on January 31, 1989), and Milwaukee, WI (63 degrees F; previously, 62 degrees F on January 26, 1944). Elsewhere, daily-record highs for January 7 reached 89 degrees F in McAllen, TX; 73 degrees F (second day in a row) in St. Louis; and 68 degrees F in Columbus, OH. By January 8, monthly record warmth shifted into the Northeast, where highs climbed to 70 degrees F (tied 70 degrees F on January 25, 1950, and January 25, 1967) in Syracuse, NY, and 67 degrees F (tied 67 degrees F on January 25, 1967) in Scranton, PA. January 8 also featured another impressive array of daily-record highs, such as 88 degrees F in Brownsville, TX; 73 degrees F in Washington, DC; and 63 degrees F in Burlington, VT. In Michigan, the 7th featured the warmest January weather since January 25, 1950, in locations such as Detroit (64 degrees F) and Grand Rapids (63 degrees F). In New York, locations such as Buffalo (63, 66, and 64 degrees F) and Watertown (61, 65, and 62 degrees F) posted three consecutive daily-record highs from January 7-9. Warmth lingered for a few more days near the East Coast, where daily records included 79 degrees F (on January 10) in Charleston, SC, and 72 degrees F (on January 11) in Danville, VA. Rain and snow developed early in the week across the Northwest, while heavy showers erupted in the Midwest. Spokane, WA, received 12.2 inches of snow from January 6-10, including a daily-record sum of 5.4 inches on the 8th. Meanwhile, precipitation gradually subsided in the Four Corners States, although as late as January 9, Grand Junction, CO, netted a daily-record snowfall of 3.1 inches. Prior to that, January 5-7 snowfall totaled as much as 32 inches at Hart Prairie, AZ, and nearly 28 inches at Crested Butte, CO. Farther east, Lincoln, IL, experienced its wettest January day on record on the 7th, when 2.75 inches of rain fell (previously, 2.28 inches on January 10, 1975). On January 7-8, consecutive daily rainfall records were established in locations such as Peoria, IL (1.53 and 1.02 inches), South Bend, IN (1.42 and 1.80 inches), Springfield, MO (1.75 and 1.55 inches), and Lincoln (2.75 and 2.13 inches). Toward week's end, another round of heavy showers developed in parts of the East. Bristol, TN, coming off its driest year on record (22.39 inches, or 54 percent of normal), netted a daily-record total of 1.72 inches on January 10. A day later, rainfall records for January 11 included 1.29 inches in Williamsport, PA, and 1.28 inches in Providence, RI, while Sault Ste. Marie, MI, collected a daily-record snowfall of 8.5 inches. Strong thunderstorms accompanied the rainfall across parts of the South and Midwest on January 7-8 and 10, resulting in more than 100 tornadoes, according to preliminary reports compiled by the federal Storm Prediction Center. As many as five tornadoes were reported on January 7 in Wisconsin (Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth Counties), representing only the second January outbreak there since the middle of the 19th century. Previously, a single tornado was reported in Wisconsin (Green and Rock Counties) on January 24, 1967. Farther south, tornado-related fatalities occurred on January 7 (two in Missouri) and 8 (one in Arkansas). Meanwhile, major flooding developed across the central Corn Belt. In northern Illinois, the Vermilion River crested on January 9 at its second-highest level on record in Pontiac (4.85 feet above flood stage) and near Leonore (9.50 feet above flood stage). At both locations, this year's crests fell short of the record-high levels established on December 4, 1982. Meanwhile in Indiana, the Wabash River crested on January 10 (11.16 feet above flood stage) in Lafayette and on January 11 (10.03 feet above flood stage) in Covington. Along that stretch of the Wabash River, the water climbed to its highest level since January 2005. Elsewhere in Indiana, the Kankakee River at Dunns Bridge (2.65 feet above flood stage on January 13) rose to its highest level since July 25, 1996, while the Elkhart River at Goshen (3.07 feet above flood stage on January 9) reached its highest point since June 9, 1993. Bitterly cold conditions intensified across western Alaska, where weekly temperatures averaged more than 20 degrees F below normal in some locations. Although no records were set, minimum temperatures in King Salmon ranged from -27 to -32 degrees F. Little or no precipitation fell across the Alaskan mainland, while some light rain and snow fell in southeastern areas. Farther south, mild, mostly dry weather prevailed in Hawaii. During the first 12 days of the new year, rainfall totaled just 0.03 inches (2 to 3 percent of normal) in both Honolulu, Oahu, and Kahului, Maui. National Weather Summary provided by USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board. For more information, call (202) 720-2397. National Agricultural Summary January 7-13, 2007 Highlights: Unseasonably warm weather covered much of the Nation during the week. However, in some areas of the Southwest, temperatures were near-to or below-normal. Precipitation amounts of 4 inches or more were evident in the Pacific Northwest along the coast. However, farther inland smaller accumulations fell. Precipitation also fell over most of Idaho and eastern Wyoming, as well as over the Four Corners region with heavier rainfall in central Arizona and northern Utah. Elsewhere, east of the Great Plains, heavy precipitation was focused from the Great Lakes southward to the gulf with greater than 4 inches falling in northern Indiana. California small grain development was aided by rains, while in Arizona, small grain planting remained active with 40 percent of the durum wheat crop seeded. Arizona alfalfa harvest was also underway with one-fourth of the crop acreage harvested. Lack of rainfall in Texas stressed winter wheat in some areas of the State, however in the Texas Blacklands, small grains were rated in better condition. Texas cotton harvest neared an end in the Panhandle and dry weather allowed corn planting preparations in the Blacklands. Rain delayed activities in some orchards and vineyards of California, but citrus harvest continued. Growers in the Golden State kept a close watch on groves as colder temperatures prevailed. In Florida, early and mid-season harvest was at it's highest level of the season. California vegetable planting was delayed by wet fields in some areas but harvest of farmers market vegetables continued. Potato planting preparations were beginning in Florida, and favorable weather allowed planting and harvesting to progress for other vegetables in the Tri-county agricultural area. In Arizona, vegetable marketing was ongoing. 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