nd-crop-weather STATE NORTH DAKOTA CROP, LIVESTOCK & WEATHER REPORT RELEASE DATE, MONTH ENDING DATE: Released: February 6, 2006 For Month Ending: February 5, 2006 ISSUE ND-CW0606 AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY General: Above normal temperatures resulted in a record warm January across the state, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, North Dakota Field Office. Temperatures along with very little snow cover made livestock feeding easier for producers. As a result, cattle and sheep were in good condition and ranchers were able to retain sufficient feed. Hay and forage supplies were rated 97 percent adequate to surplus. Reporters noted that livestock producers started early calving. Some grain was moved to elevators due to recent price rallies, and seed was being cleaned. Statewide, average snow cover was 2.9 inches on February 5 compared with 2.7 inches a year ago. The northeast and east central districts reported the most snow cover with 7.9 and 5.0 inches, respectively. The northwest district reported the least snow cover with an average of only 0.4 of an inch followed by 0.7 of an inch in the south central district. County and secondary roads were rated 93 percent open, 6 difficult and 1 closed to travel. Road conditions were 6 percent drifted, 17 icy, 3 muddy and 74 dry. FIELD CROPS REPORT Crops: As of February 5, snow cover protection for alfalfa was rated 75 percent poor, 21 adequate and 4 excellent. Little to no snow cover was reported across the state due to the above average temperatures during January. LIVESTOCK, PASTURE AND RANGE REPORT Livestock: Mild weather during January provided good conditions for livestock and allowed feed supplies to last longer. Cattle conditions were rated 1 percent poor, 14 fair, 70 good and 15 excellent. Sheep conditions were rated 1 percent poor, 9 fair, 77 good and 13 excellent. Hay and forage supplies were rated 3 percent short, 85 adequate and 12 surplus. WEATHER SUMMARY Weather: Unprecedented warmth occurred for the month of January 2006. Many locations recorded their warmest January on record. Monthly average temperatures ranged anywhere from 9 to as much as 16 degrees above monthly seasonal averages. Almost every day during the month was above average for all locations. Some locations in the west and south did not record a single day below zero. Several record high temperatures were also reached during the month for central and western locations. January was also a dry month for the state. Precipitation across the state ranged from below average in the west and south to near average in the north and east. Snowfall was below average across the state. Western and southern portions in the state saw very little snow on the ground for the month. Heavy snow pack remained in the east central and northeastern portions of the state. Outlook, February: February will start off colder than normal for the majority of the state. A shift in the jet stream pattern will allow colder air to filter in from Canada. Look for colder than normal temperatures in the eastern half of the state through February 19. Near normal to slightly above normal temperatures will occur in the western half of the state. No major storms are in sight for the first half of the month. There will be a few chances for light snowfall as a series of small disturbances make their way across the state from the northwest. Temperatures look to rebound to above average for the last week of the month as another shift in the jet stream may bring mild temperatures back to the state. Overall, the month of February should see normal to above normal temperatures. Precipitation for the month should be near normal across the state. WEATHER INFORMATION TABLE TEMPERATURE, January 1-31, 2006 District & Temperature Stations High Low Average Depart/Norm 1/ Degrees F NORTHWEST NA NA NA NA Bowbells 49 -6 26 9 Williston 52 2 28 10 Mohall 46 -8 25 12 Minot 52 -1 28 16 NORTH CENTRAL NA NA NA NA Baker 42 -5 25 15 Bottineau 43 -18 23 15 Rugby 44 -10 25 14 NORTHEAST NA NA NA NA Cando 38 -7 23 8 Cavalier 39 -6 23 12 Forest River 40 -6 23 12 Grand Forks 41 -5 22 12 Langdon 37 -6 20 12 St. Thomas 39 -6 20 11 WEST CENTRAL NA NA NA NA Hazen 56 10 28 12 Turtle Lake 52 2 27 13 Watford City 56 9 30 10 CENTRAL NA NA NA NA Carrington 44 0 26 14 Harvey 47 -4 26 13 Jamestown 43 0 25 10 Robinson 44 -1 25 13 Streeter 43 -3 25 10 EAST CENTRAL NA NA NA NA Dazey 40 3 24 12 Fargo 41 2 24 12 Hillsboro 39 -7 21 9 SOUTHWEST NA NA NA NA Beach 56 8 31 12 Bowman 54 8 30 11 Dickinson 54 10 30 11 Hettinger 53 11 30 10 SOUTH CENTRAL NA NA NA NA Mandan 45 9 27 12 Linton 44 1 26 11 SOUTHEAST NA NA NA NA Edgeley 43 1 26 11 Oakes 44 0 25 13 Wyndmere 43 -3 23 9 1/ Normal is the 1971-2000 average. NA=Not Available. Weather data collected from NDAWN stations and compiled by UND Aerospace Regional Weather Information Center. CONTACT INFORMATION USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, North Dakota Field Office Cooperating with: NDSU Extension Service, Farm Service Agency, ND Ag Weather Network (NDAWN) and UND Aerospace Regional Weather Information Center FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: David Knopf, Director USDA, NASS, North Dakota Field Office NDSU, IACC Bldg., Room 448 P.O. Box 3166 Fargo, ND 58108-3166 Telephone: (701) 239-5306 E-Mail: nass-nd@nass.usda.gov Internet: http://www.nass.usda.gov/nd/