Farm/Ranch
Weekly weather and crop bulletin
By National Agricultural Statistics Service - USDA
Nov 16, 2008

National Weather Summary: November 2 - 8, 2008

Highlights:  An early-season winter storm brought blizzard conditions to parts of the Dakotas, boosting soil moisture but curtailing harvest
activities and increasing stress on livestock.  Locally severe thunderstorms developed along the storm's trailing cold front.  Reports of damaging winds, including isolated tornadoes, were most numerous across the southeastern Plains and the Ozark Plateau on November 5. 

Elsewhere on the southern Plains, harvesting of cotton and sorghum advanced, despite a turn toward colder weather.  Meanwhile, most areas from the Mississippi Valley eastward experienced several days of warm, dry weather, allowing corn and cotton harvesting to rapidly advance.  In addition, the Southeastern peanut harvest and the Midwestern soybean harvest neared completion.  However, a slow-moving storm near the East Coast produced cloudy, showery, breezy conditions in the Atlantic coastal plain from eastern North Carolina to Maine. 

Farther west, a series of Pacific storms maintained showery, unsettled conditions in the Northwest, boosting soil moisture for winter grain establishment.  During the first half of the week and again at week's end, light rain as far south as southern California briefly slowed autumn fieldwork.  Significant precipitation, including high-elevation snow, fell in parts of the Intermountain West.  Near- to below-normal temperatures covered California and the Southwest. 

Chilly conditions also lingered for much of the week in the lower Southeast, including Florida, where weekly temperatures averaged up to 5 degrees F below normal.  In contrast, very warm weather prevailed in advance of the winter storm that drifted from the Northwest to the north-central U.S., resulting in weekly readings as much as 15 degrees F above normal in the upper Midwest.
                                                                               
Early in the week, record-setting warmth prevailed across the nation's mid-section, while stormy weather arrived in the West.  On November 2, Grand Junction, CO (76 degrees F), set a monthly record high, previously established with a reading of 75 degrees F on November 5, 1977.  Daily-record highs for November 2 included 86 degrees F in Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX; 83 degrees F in Oklahoma City, OK; and 79 degrees F in Rapid City, SD. 

Meanwhile, daily-record precipitation totals for November 2 reached 0.86 inch in Pocatello, ID; 0.72 inch in Elko, NV; and 0.38 inch in Santa Barbara, CA.  By November 3-4, unusually warm conditions reached the Midwest.  In fact, November 4 featured monthly record highs in Wisconsin locations such as Manitowoc (76 degrees F) and Appleton (75 degrees F).  In both Manitowoc and Appleton, the previous standard of 74 degrees F had been established on November 1, 1950.  Green Bay, WI (74 degrees F on November 4) tied a monthly record that had been most recently attained on November 9, 1999.  Elsewhere in Wisconsin, Milwaukee reached or exceeded 70 degrees F on 3 consecutive November days (November 3-5) for the first time on record.  Milwaukee's previous mark of 2 consecutive November days at or above 70 degrees F had been attained six times in 138 years, most recently on November 8-9, 1999.
                                                                               
On November 4-5, significant precipitation shifted from the West to the northern Plains.  Western daily-record totals on November 4 included 0.57 inch in Los Angeles, CA, and 0.41 inch in Yakima, WA.  In North Dakota, Grand Forks posted a trio of daily-record rainfall totals (0.45, 0.85, and 0.93 inch) from November 4-6.  Other daily-record totals reached 2.02 inches (on November 6) in Rapid City, SD, and 1.51 inches in Williston, ND.  Rapid City also received a daily-record snowfall (9.0 inches) on November 6.  Elsewhere in western South Dakota, storm-total snowfall amounts of 2 to 4 feet were reported in locations such as Deadwood, Lead, and Silver City.  Similar amounts were noted on November 4-5 in Utah's Wasatch Range, where Alta received 46 inches.  Heavy snow fell as far east as Bismarck, ND, where 9.4 inches accumulated on November 6-7.  High winds accompanied the storm, with gusts on November 6 clocked to 64 m.p.h. in Ogallala, NE, and 63 m.p.h. in Goodland, KS.  A gust to 77 m.p.h. was reported in Rapid City on November 5. 

Meanwhile, daily-record rainfall totals near the Atlantic Coast included 1.64 inches (on November 2) in Melbourne, FL, and 5.88 inches (on November 5) on Cape Hatteras, NC.  Heavy rain persisted through week's end in the Pacific Northwest, where Quillayute's weekly sum of 9.53 inches included daily-record totals on November 6 and 7 (3.30 and 4.07 inches, respectively).  Toward week's end, warmth briefly overspread the East and returned to the West. 

Daily-record highs on November 7 included 88 degrees F in El Cajon, CA, and 80 degrees F in Raleigh-Durham, NC.  In contrast, Grand Junction, CO (15 degrees F on November 6), posted a daily-record low, just 4 days after its monthly record high.  Elsewhere in Colorado, sub-zero, daily-record lows for November 6 included -3 degrees F in Meeker and -1 degrees F in Alamosa.
                                                                               
Chilly conditions persisted across the southern half of Alaska, where
temperatures averaged as much as 5 to 10 degrees F below normal, while heavy precipitation subsided across the southeastern part of the state.  In the Aleutians, Cold Bay posted consecutive daily-record lows (17 and 14 degrees F) on November 6-7.  Meanwhile, Fairbanks opened November with below-normal temperatures on 8 consecutive days, along with snowfall totaling 3.0 inches. 

Between September 27 and November 8, a span of 43 days, Fairbanks' only warmer-than-normal days occurred on October 10 and 11.  Farther south, mostly dry weather returned to Hawaii, following beneficial, late-October showers in windward areas.  On November 6, the dry conditions contributed to a daily-record low of 61 degrees F in Kahului, Maui.
                                                                               
National Weather Summary provided by USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board. For more information, call (202) 720-2397.
                                                                               
National Agricultural Summary: November 3 - 9, 2008
                                                                               
Corn:  Harvest conditions were favorably dry across the Corn Belt as
temperatures remained within 3 degrees of normal.  Producers harvested 55 percent of the corn acreage, 28 points behind last year and 24 points behind the 5-year average.  Major harvest activity was apparent during the week as 16 percent of the crop was harvested.  In Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota, one-fifth or more of the crop was harvested during the week. 

Harvest was nearly complete in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee, but was just beginning to gain momentum in North Dakota, where producers were harvesting 58 points behind average.  Condition of the crop remained unchanged from the previous week's rating of 64 percent good to excellent.
                                                                               
Soybeans:   Temperatures in the northern Great Plains were up to 6 degrees warmer than average, while across remaining soybean-growing areas, temperatures were cooler than average.  Eighty-six percent of the acreage had been harvested, 4 points behind last year and 3 points behind the average.  One-tenth of the acreage was harvested during the week, Nationwide, with major activity occurring in Missouri.  Harvest was wrapping up in many States.  In Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota, harvest was 93, 90, and 97 percent complete.
                                                                               
Winter Wheat:  Temperatures in the major winter wheat areas of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, remained within 3 degrees of average.  Further north, and in the Pacific Northwest, temperatures were warmer than average during the week.  Producers had nearly completed winter wheat seeding with 90 percent planted, the same pace as last year but 2 points behind the 5-year average. 

Planting was complete in Colorado, Montana, Ohio, and South Dakota.  Seventy-six percent of the crop was emerged, 2 points ahead of last year but 2 points behind normal.  Emergence was occurring rapidly in Idaho and Illinois.  Condition of the winter wheat crop improved 2 points from the previous week to 67 percent good to excellent. 
                                                                               
Cotton:  Ninety-five percent of the cotton acreage had open bolls, developing 2 points behind last year and 1 point behind the 5-year average.  Producers had harvested 47 percent of the acreage, 9 points behind last year and 6 points behind the 5-year average.  Major harvest efforts were evident in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic States.  Producers in California had harvested only 25 percent of the crop, 36 points behind the 5-year average harvest pace, while producers in Kansas had harvested 2 percent of their crop, 15 points behind normal.  Condition of the cotton crop was rated 47 percent good to excellent, a 1 point decline from the previous week's rating.
                                                                               
Sorghum:  Ninety-one percent of the sorghum crop was mature and beyond, 8 points behind last year and 3 points behind the 5-year average.  Sorghum was mature in the Delta and in South Dakota, and was nearly mature in Colorado and Illinois.  Fifty-six percent of the sorghum crop was harvested, 29 points behind last year and 17 points behind the average.  Harvest was complete in the Delta, but was just getting underway in New Mexico.  Condition of the crop was rated 53 percent good to excellent, a 3 point decline from last week's rating.
                                                                               
Peanuts:  Producers harvested 79 percent of the peanut crop, 8 points ahead of last year and 1 point ahead of the 5-year average.  Virginia producers harvested 29 percent of their acreage during the week, catching up with the 5-year average harvest pace.  Other than in Oklahoma, where harvest was 11 points behind the 5-year average pace, producers in all peanut producing States were harvesting within 7 points of normal.
                                                                               
Other Crops:  Sugarbeet producers harvested 89 percent of the acreage, 3 points behind last year and 4 points behind the 5-year average.  Excellent harvest conditions allowed Idaho and Michigan producers to harvest 30 and 34 percent of their acreage during the week, respectively.  Harvest was within 7 points of the 5-year average in all States.
                                                                               
Fifty-one percent of the sunflower crop had been harvested, 17 points behind last year and 18 points behind the average.  Colorado producers, with 74 percent of the acreage harvested, were harvesting at the 5-year average pace, while elsewhere, harvest was between 15 and 28 points behind.