We 1 (3-08) Weekly Weather And Crop Bulletin National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released March 4, 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 February 24 - March 1, 2008 Highlights: Stormy weather subsided across the West early in the week, followed by a period of warm, dry weather that promoted early-spring fieldwork in California and the Southwest. Meanwhile, mostly dry weather also prevailed on the Plains, where late-week temperatures soared to 80 degrees F as far north as southwestern Nebraska. Conditions for pastures, rangeland, and winter wheat worsened on the southern Plains, especially in Texas, where dry, windy weather contributed to numerous large wildfires. Farther east, light precipitation maintained soggy conditions in parts of the central and eastern Corn Belt and padded already impressive snow depths from Iowa into Michigan. Elsewhere, rain showers provided some additional drought relief in the Southeast, while another round of wintry weather affected parts of the Northeast. A Southeastern cold snap brought freezes as far south as Florida's northern tier on February 28-29. For the week as a whole, below-normal temperatures from the Mississippi Valley to the East Coast contrasted with warmer-than-normal weather from the High Plains westward. Readings were at least 10 degrees F below normal in parts of the lower Great Lakes region, but averaged as much as 10 degrees F above normal in the western Dakotas. On February 25, temperatures ranged from 90 to 100 degrees F in central and southern Texas, and readings above 80 degrees F lingered into the following day across Florida. Mid- to late-week temperatures above 80 degrees F were common in southern California and the Desert Southwest, but readings stayed below 40 degrees F for the entire week from the Great Lakes region into northern New England. Early in the week, wet, windy weather lingered in California. On February 24, daily-record rainfall totals in southern California included 0.87 inch in Long Beach and 0.75 inch in Los Angeles (LAX Airport), while wind gusts in California's Sacramento Valley were clocked to 54 m.p.h. at both Redding and Red Bluff. Meanwhile, as much as 3 to 4 feet of snow blanketed the Sierra Nevada, where the average water content of the high-elevation snow pack increased to 29 inches. According to the California Department of Water Resources, the 29-inch accumulation is 102 percent of the average seasonal peak and 117 percent of the end-of-February average. Meanwhile, a heat wave and wind storm contributed to the spread of numerous large wildfires across the south-central U.S. On February 25, temperatures climbed to 100 degrees F at several places in southern Texas, including locations near Carrizo Springs and Del Rio. At the official observation site in Del Rio, the high of 99 degrees F on the 25th tied its February record, previously attained on February 21, 1996. Winds above 50 m.p.h. were common in Texas on the 25th, with gusts clocked to 53 m.p.h. in Lubbock and 51 m.p.h. in Midland. In Texas alone, more than 30 large wildfires charred well over 300,000 acres of vegetation, boosting the state's year-to-date total to nearly a half-million acres. The largest recent blaze, the 220,000-acre Glass fire southwest of Sterling City, burned across parts of three counties. Other large incidents included the 29,000-acre Scurry County complex near the town of Snyder, where five homes were destroyed, and the 20,000-acre Silver fire in Coke County, where the community of Robert Lee was evacuated. During all of 2007, just 121,964 acres burned in the Lone Star State. Fires were not just confined to Texas; other blazes included a 40,000-acre fire near Hobbs, NM, where tower personnel at the Hobbs Airport were evacuated for 4 hours. In northwestern Oklahoma, several thousand acres burned in Woodward County. As of March 2, the Texas winter wheat crop was rated 63% very poor to poor, while the state's range and pastureland was rated 49% very poor to poor. Ironically, dry conditions also promoted early-season fieldwork in Texas; by March 2, planting advanced ahead of the 5-year average and was 7% complete for corn and 7% complete for sorghum. Warmth continued into February 26 in Florida, where daily-record highs included 89 degrees F in Melbourne and 86 degrees F in Vero Beach. During February, highs reached or exceeded 80 degrees F on 11 days in Melbourne and 13 days in Vero Beach. On February 28, however, both Melbourne and Vero Beach experienced their coldest weather of the month with lows of 40 degrees F. Farther north, late-week temperatures plunged below 0 degrees F across the interior Northeast. Daily-record lows for February 29 included -21 degrees F in Massena, NY, and -20 degrees F in St. Johnsbury, VT. Elsewhere in the Northeast, lows on February 29 plunged to -36 degrees F in Island Pond (airport), VT; -35 degrees F in Clayton Lake, ME; and -30 degrees F in Saranac Lake, NY. In contrast, record warmth developed across southern California by mid-week and spread to the High Plains by week's end. Santa Ana, CA (87 degrees F), posted a daily-record high on February 27, followed the next day by a daily record in Douglas, AZ (81 degrees F). By March 1, readings of 80 degrees F in McCook, NE, and Garden City, KS, were among more than two dozen daily-record highs across the High Plains and the Southwest. Precipitation shifted from the West to the Midwest on February 25, when daily-record totals included 0.65 inch (in the form of snow and freezing rain) in Waterloo, IA, and 3.5 inches of snow in Boulder, MT. A day later in Indiana, Fort Wayne (4.6 inches of snow) noted a record for February 26. Snow shifted into the Northeast by February 27, when daily records in Maine reached 6.0 inches in Caribou and 3.9 inches in Bangor. A prolonged period of snow showers and squalls prevailed downwind of the Great Lakes into the Appalachians. From February 25-27, totals near Lake Michigan topped 18 inches in locations such as Grand Beach, MI, and La Porte, IN, while as much as 8 to 16 inches of snow blanketed western North Carolina's peaks. In Hawaii, mostly dry weather contributed to fairly large daily temperature swings. On Maui, Kahului (54 degrees F) notched a daily record-tying low for February 27. Later on Oahu, Honolulu (85 degrees F) posted a daily-record high for February 29. For areas that missed Hawaii's early-February deluge, the month ended on the dry side. February totals included 0.42 inch (18 percent of normal) in Honolulu and 1.03 inches (44 percent) in Kahului. Farther north, cold weather returned to western Alaska, where weekly temperatures averaged at least 8 degrees F below normal in several locations. In the Aleutians, Cold Bay (1 degree F) collected a daily-record low for February 26. Meanwhile, light precipitation fell in many areas, including parts of interior Alaska, where Fairbanks (2.6 inches) received a record snowfall for February 24. National Weather Summary provided by USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board. For more information, call (202) 720-2397. National Agricultural Summary February 25 - March 2, 2008 Herbicide applications were ongoing in California small grain fields during the week. Alfalfa was growing well across the State and weevil spraying continued. Sugarbeets were growing well as producers fertilized, irrigated, cultivated, and treated for weeds. In Arizona, durum wheat and barley emergence had occurred on more than three-fourths of the planted acreage as harvest of alfalfa continued. In Texas, lack of moisture forced irrigation to continue on many wheat and oat fields across the State with recent showers in East Texas providing only limited relief to small grains. Cotton producers in the Low Plains and Trans-Pecos regions were preparing fields for future planting. In the Lower Valley of Texas, cotton and sorghum planting and sugarcane harvest continued. Sorghum planting also continued along the Upper Coast. Frequent showers in Georgia have been beneficial for crops and pastures, although in some areas, wet soil conditions hampered applications of nitrogen on small grain fields. The wheat crop was generally reported to be in good condition, especially where producers were able to apply fertilizer. In Florida, sugarcane harvest continued in the Lake Okeechobee area. Florida potato planting continued with some freeze damage reported. California growers continued to harvest many vegetables and herbs, while asparagus shoots were emerging. Across the State, irrigation, fertilization, and chemical treatments were ongoing in vegetable fields and early planted crops were growing well as irrigation continued. Arizona vegetable shipments continued across many different types of vegetables and herbs. Texas growers were preparing fields for vegetable planting in the south central and southeast parts of the State. Onion planting was complete in the Trans Pecos region, spinach harvest was active in South Texas and harvest of vegetables continued in the Lower Valley. In California, bloom had begun in fruit orchards. Field preparations in vineyards were nearly complete and blueberry bush planting continued. Strawberries were growing well, although some storm damaged fields were still recovering. Almond groves were blooming and progressing well in California's Sacramento Valley. Warmer weather was excellent for pollination and reduced the threat of disease in the Sacramento Valley. Walnut growers were spraying and pruning. In Florida, early blueberry cultivars saw some negative effects from the cold weather, while in Plant City, strawberry harvest continued. Florida citrus growers applied early fertilizer treatments and irrigated to prepare for the upcoming bloom. Systemic pesticide applications continued, along with hedging and topping. Citrus harvest continued throughout both California and Florida. However, in California, harvest was slowed due to excessive moisture. 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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