We 1 (12-08) Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released December 9, 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 November 30 - December 6, 2008 Highlights: For the third consecutive week, chilly conditions in the East contrasted with warmth in the West. Weekly temperatures ranged from as much as 10 degrees F below normal in the central and southern Appalachians to 10 degrees F above normal at a few locations across the Intermountain West. Mostly dry weather accompanied the Western warmth, except for some snow in the northern and central Rockies. Pockets of unfavorable dryness persisted in Northwestern winter wheat areas, while conditions were nearly ideal for cotton harvesting and other late-autumn fieldwork in California and the Southwest. Meanwhile, winter wheat moved deeper into dormancy under generally favorable moisture conditions on the northern and central Plains, while drought intensified across the southeastern Plains. Unlike the remainder of the nation's mid-section, the drought-affected wheat areas- mainly across central portions of Oklahoma and Texas-did not receive much rain during the key crop establishment period in September and October. Farther east, cold, snowy weather affected much of the Midwest, with significant accumulations noted from central Iowa and southeastern Minnesota into Michigan. Locally heavy snow also fell downwind of the Great Lakes. In the upper Midwest, frozen fields and mostly shallow snow depths allowed corn harvesting to near completion. Elsewhere, occasional showers accompanied cold weather across the South and East. Some snow fell in the Northeast, mainly at week's end. In the Southeast, additional freezes as far south as the central Gulf Coast region (on December 2) and northern Florida (on December 3) continued to limit the growth of pastures and winter grains. Early in the week, heavy showers lingered across the Southeast, while snow blanketed parts of the Midwest. Daily-record rainfall totals for November 30 included 2.59 inches in Key West, FL, and 1.62 inches in Columbia, SC. Orlando, FL (0.61 inch on November 30; 0.48 inch from November 1-29) received more rain on the last day of November than the first 29 days of the month. Farther north, snowfall records for November 30 included 4.6 inches in Peoria, IL, and 2.4 inches in St. Louis, MO. Meanwhile on the Plains, windy weather accompanied a warming trend. In Nebraska, the last day of November featured wind gusts to 59 m.p.h. in both McCook and Ogallala. In the West Coast States, daily-record highs for November 30 reached 72 degrees F in San Jose, CA, and 66 degrees F in Tillamook, OR. A day later, spreading warmth resulted in daily-record highs for December 1 in locations such as Paso Robles, CA (78 degrees F); Redmond, OR (67 degrees F); Reno, NV (66 degrees F); Flagstaff, AZ (66 degrees F); and Helena, MT (60 degrees F). Later, record-setting warmth reached as far east as the central High Plains, while snow developed across the north-central U.S. On December 2, McCook (70 degrees F) notched a daily-record high, while Billings, MT (4.6 inches), collected a daily-record snowfall. In contrast, chilly air again settled across the South, where Austin (Bergstrom), TX, tallied a daily-record low of 25 degrees F on December 2. The following day, record lows in Florida included 29 degrees F in Archbold and 36 degrees F in Lakeland. During the second half of the week, much colder weather returned to the Plains, while dry weather persisted in the West. Denver, CO (-5 degrees F on December 4, along with 3.6 inches of snow), posted a daily-record low, just 2 days after reaching 69 degrees F. On December 4 in California, dry conditions contributed to a daily-record low (28 degrees F) in Redding and a daily-record high (72 degrees F) in Red Bluff. Toward week's end, the coldest air of the year swept across parts of the Midwest and East. On December 4, La Crosse, WI, noted its first sub-zero temperature of the year (-2 degrees F), 12 days earlier than normal. It was La Crosse's earliest sub-zero reading since November 7, 1992. Temperatures remained below 20 degrees F on December 5 as far south as Fort Wayne, IN, where the high was 19 degrees F. Meanwhile, snow squalls returned to areas downwind of the Great Lakes, where Muskegon, MI (11.2 inches), received a daily-record snowfall for December 6. With the late-week wintry blast, Muskegon's weekly snowfall climbed to 21.3 inches. Across Hawaii's western islands, heavy November rainfall gave way to diminishing showers in early December. The November rainfall total of 6.05 inches in Lihue, Kauai, accounted for 30 percent of the year-to-date sum. Meanwhile, mostly dry weather persisted elsewhere in Hawaii. On the Big Island, Hilo's March-November rainfall totaled just 43.87 inches (45 percent of normal). Hilo netted just 0.05 inch (2 percent of normal) during the first 6 days of December. Meanwhile, the January 1 - December 6 rainfall in Kahului, Maui, totaled only 4.50 inches (28 percent of normal). Farther north, bitterly cold conditions gradually eased across Alaska's mainland, accompanied by some light snow. Daily-record Alaskan snowfall totals included 4.8 inches (on December 5) in Bettles and 2.8 inches (on December 6) in Fairbanks. Temperatures in Fairbanks ranged from -31 degrees F on December 2 to 19 degrees F on December 6. By December 4, King Salmon (45 degrees F) posted a daily-record high. Meanwhile, heavy precipitation briefly affected southeastern Alaska, where Yakutat noted December 3-4 totals of 2.37 inches of precipitation and 9.6 inches of snow. National Weather Summary provided by USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board. For more information, call (202) 720-2397. Agricultural Summary December 1 - 7, 2008 Southern California temperatures remained above average throughout the week. In the north, cool air led to widespread fog. The fog burned off allowing warm daytime temperatures early in the week. However, mid-to-late in the week, the fog persisted and kept temperatures cool throughout the day. Cotton harvest was winding down across the State and corn for silage harvest was nearing completion. In Arizona, average temperature remained above normal throughout the week and three-fourths of the cotton harvest was complete by weeks end. Rainfall from the previous week in Georgia kept soil moisture mostly adequate to surplus as cool conditions prevailed across the State and cotton harvest slowed. Texas conditions remained mostly dry, slowing winter wheat emergence. Statewide, wheat condition was mostly poor to fair. Cotton harvest continued, though slow across the State, and corn harvest continued. 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. 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