We 1 (3-08) Weekly Weather And Crop Bulletin National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released March 25, 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 March 16 - 22, 2008 Highlights: Torrential rainfall tightened the gradient between lingering Southeastern drought and extremely wet conditions stretching from the southeastern Plains into New England. Rainfall, most of which fell from March 17-19, totaled at least 4 inches and triggered widespread flooding from northeastern Texas into the Ohio Valley. Isolated totals in excess of 10 inches were observed in northern Arkansas, southeastern Missouri, and southern Illinois. By week's end, lowland flooding and soggy field conditions persisted from northeastern Texas into the lower Midwest, although water continued to drain into main-stem basins such as the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. However, recovery from the flooding was aggravated by low evaporation rates due to persistently cool weather. Meanwhile, fieldwork advanced with few delays in the Southeast, although scattered showers maintained generally favorable topsoil moisture levels for winter grains and emerging summer crops. Farther west, heavy rain soaked the southeastern Plains but largely bypassed southern Texas and the central and southern High Plains. As a result, general moisture conditions across the Hard Red winter wheat belt ranged from unfavorably dry on the High Plains to unusually wet on the east-central and southeastern Plains. Late in the week, a band of snow developed across the nation's northern tier, with some of the heaviest accumulations affecting the northern Corn Belt. Elsewhere, cool, persistently showery weather in the Northwest slowed the early-season development of winter grains, while mild, mostly dry weather in California and the Southwest promoted fieldwork and crop development. Early in the week, chilly weather in the West contrasted with above-normal temperatures in the Southeast. Daily-record lows for March 16 included 15 degrees F in Redmond, OR, and 32 degrees F in Santa Maria, CA. Lows were also set the following day, March 17, in California locations such as Lancaster (26 degrees F) and Santa Maria (32 degrees F for the second day in a row). In Florida, however, Miami's high of 91 degrees F on March 16 was just 2 degrees F shy of its monthly record of 93 degrees F established on March 22, 2003. A day later, heavy rain erupted across the south-central U.S., where record totals for March 17 included 2.05 inches in San Angelo, TX, and 1.86 inches in Wichita, KS. Farther north, a band of snow across Nebraska produced a daily-record total of 5.4 inches on March 17 in North Platte. The 18th was the wettest March day on record at many locations, including Evansville, IN (6.40 inches); West Plains, MO (5.69 inches); Harrison, AR (4.77 inches); and Springfield, MO (3.93 inches). It was also Evansville's second-wettest day on record behind 6.50 inches on October 5, 1910. Springfield's daily rainfall record for March had stood since 1927, when 3.35 inches fell on March 31. Elsewhere in Missouri, a preliminary total of 11.48 inches of rain pelted Cape Girardeau on March 18, shattering both its daily and 24-hour rainfall records (6.73 inches on March 27, 1977, and 9.71 inches on May 26-27, 1973, respectively). In Arkansas, Gilbert (6.35 inches), also set a 24-hour rainfall record, while Salem (6.16 inches) had its second-wettest 24-hour period behind the rainfall total associated with a December 1982 flood event. The White River at Batesville Bridge and Newport, AR, climbed to its highest level since December 1982. The river crested 12.00 feet above flood stage at Batesville Bridge on March 20, followed the next day by a crest 7.98 feet above flood stage at Newport. Farther west, the Illinois River near Watts, OK, surged 11.73 feet above flood stage on March 19, representing the highest water level there since May 3, 1990, when the river rose 12.08 feet above flood stage. In Missouri, record crests were established on March 19 along the Black River at Poplar Bluff (6.15 feet above flood stage; previously, 5.68 feet on December 4, 1982) and the Gasconade River at Hazelgreen (13.58 feet above flood stage; previously, 13.46 feet on December 3, 1982). Later, the Big Muddy River near Murphysboro, IL, swelled to 15.25 feet above flood stage on March 22, the highest crest there since May 2, 1996, when it was 15.70 feet above flood stage. Along the Mississippi River, Cape Girardeau, MO, reported a crest 9.04 feet above flood stage on March 24, marking the highest water level there since May 2002 and the eighth-highest crest on record. Farther north, snow developed across the Northwest at mid-week and quickly spread into the Midwest. In Washington, Spokane (0.6 inch) received a daily-record snowfall for March 19. A day later, Aberdeen, SD, collected a daily-record total of 4.9 inches en route to a March 20-21 sum of 9.5 inches. Meanwhile, heavy snow also struck northern New England, where record totals for March 20 included 10.6 inches in Caribou, ME, and 9.0 inches atop Mt. Mansfield, VT. By March 21, additional Midwestern daily snowfall records reached 11.5 inches in Milwaukee, WI; 10.7 inches in Sisseton, SD; 7.6 inches in Fargo, ND; and 7.0 inches in Muskegon, MI. By week's end, Caribou achieved its snowiest season on record (186.3 inches; previously, 181.1 inches in 1954-55), while Milwaukee (96.9 inches) reached its second-highest seasonal total behind 109.8 inches in 1885-86. Similarly, Grand Rapids, MI (105.2 inches), attained its second-highest seasonal snowfall behind 132.0 inches in 1951-52. Despite the recent storminess, some of the driest parts of Texas continued to experience wildfire activity. Through March 24, the year-to-date wildfire area in Texas reached 913,985 acres, far above the state total of 121,964 acres during all of 2007. Among the largest recent blazes were the 51,400-acre Porter fire (ignited on March 14; contained on March 17) south of Fort Stockton and the 25,600-acre Burns Ranch fire (started by power lines downed by high winds on March 18) north of McAllen. Farther west, late-week temperatures remained low in the Northwest but soared in southern California. On March 22, Northwestern daily-record lows included 8 degrees F in Meacham, OR, and 18 degrees F in Burley, ID. Meanwhile, daily-record highs for March 22 in California climbed to 93 degrees F in Anaheim and 90 degrees F in Fullerton. Cold, mostly dry weather prevailed across the Alaskan mainland, while wet conditions affected the south-central and southeastern parts of the state. On March 20, Umiat (on the North Slope) posted a low of -50 degrees F, while Bethel (in the southwest) tallied a daily-record low of -29 degrees F. Meanwhile, 40.3 inches of snow blanketed Whittier in a 28-hour period on March 19-20. Weekly snowfall in Kodiak totaled 22.3 inches, with 15.3 inches falling on March 21-22. Farther south, Hawaii's long dry spell was broken in some windward locations by locally heavy showers. For example, weekly rainfall totaled 3.90 inches in Hilo, on the Big Island, and 25.10 inches on Kauai's Mount Waialeale, one of the world's wettest spots. Nearly 40 percent (10.02 inches) of Mount Waialeale's weekly rain fell in a 24-hour period on March 20-21. National Weather Summary provided by USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board. For more information, call (202) 720-2397. National Agricultural Summary March 17 - 23, 2008 Wheat jointing was behind last year and normal in Kansas, as small grain top dressing and weed control continued. In Arizona, small grain emergence was complete and in Oklahoma and Texas, small grains were revived and developing well after recent rains and warmth. Field preparations were underway across much of the country, as spring planting activity gained momentum in some areas. Land preparations continued in Florida for field crop planting, and in Louisiana, corn and rice planting continued after a rain delay. In Texas, along the Coastal Bend and Blacklands, corn and cotton planting was delayed due to wet fields. Meanwhile, corn planting was ongoing in southern areas of the State. Elsewhere, in the Pacific Northwest, and areas stretching from central Texas, northeastward into Ohio, moderate levels of precipitation delayed fieldwork. Vegetable harvest continued and summer vegetable planting was gaining momentum in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. In Florida, timely rains aided development of the citrus crop, as fertilizer and pesticide applications continued across the State. Citrus harvest continued in the growing areas of the country. Fruit trees and berries were blooming in California and ideal growing conditions aided the development of nut crops. 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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