nd-crop-weather STATE NORTH DAKOTA CROP, LIVESTOCK & WEATHER REPORT RELEASE DATE, WEEK ENDING DATE Released: January 3, 2007 For Month Ending: December 31, 2006 ISSUE ND-CW0107 AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY General: Above average temperatures during December caused it to be one of the warmest Decembers on record, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, North Dakota Field Office. A late snow storm the end of December brought most of the precipitation received across the state to what was a mostly dry month. The mild conditions have allowed producers to continue to graze livestock. As a result, producers were able to graze their livestock on corn stalks which helped preserve hay and forage supplies. Reporters noted that producers were busy hauling grain and livestock to market. Some grain storage problems were also reported. County and secondary roads were rated 83 percent open, 16 difficult and 1 closed to travel. Road conditions were 18 percent drifted, 30 icy, 3 muddy and 49 dry. Statewide average snow cover was 5.4 inches on December 31, compared with 5.5 inches last year. The central and north central districts reported the most snow cover with 10.2 and 7.3 inches, respectively. The southwest reported the least snow cover with an average of 0.9 of an inch followed by 4.8 inches in the northeast district. FIELD CROPS REPORT Crops: As of December 31, snow cover protection for alfalfa was rated 41 percent poor, 33 adequate and 26 excellent. It was reported that more snow is needed to cover alfalfa and winter wheat. LIVESTOCK, PASTURE AND RANGE REPORT Livestock: Mild weather conditions during December provided good conditions for cattle to graze on corn stocks. Cattle conditions were rated 1 percent poor, 19 fair, 67 good and 13 excellent. Sheep conditions were rated 1 percent poor, 26 fair, 62 good and 11 excellent. Hay and forage supplies were rated 2 percent very short, 21 short, 71 adequate and 6 surplus. WEATHER SUMMARY Weather: December 2006 will go down as one of the warmest Decembers on record. Most of the Upper Midwest saw the beginning of El Nino like conditions with mild temperatures and relatively dry weather. The only Arctic outbreak occurred during the first week of December when temperatures dipped into the -20s in the north central. After this cold air outbreak, temperatures quickly rebounded to above average conditions for the rest of the month. December almost ended the year with very little snowfall, but a large storm system tracked just southeast of the state from December 30-31. This system brought a mix of freezing rain and snow to the southeastern part of the state while snow fell further west and north. Snowfall accumulations ranged from around an inch in the Fargo and Wahpeton area to 16 inches around Ashley in the south central part of the state. The heaviest snowfall fell on a line from just south of Jamestown/Bismarck to Devils Lake with snowfall accumulations ranging in this area from 10 to 16 inches. This system brought precipitation totals for the month to near normal levels for the eastern two-thirds of the state. Moderate to severe drought conditions are still present for the western third of the state where little significant precipitation was seen from this storm system. Outlook, January: January looks like it will start out with near to above average temperatures and average precipitation for the first week. A persistent trough in the jet stream over the western United States will eventually shift eastward and bring below average temperatures to the entire state during the second week of January with slightly above average precipitation. A few storm systems could work their way across the state as the jet stream shifts eastward across the northern plains and sets up to become a more wintry pattern with colder temperatures. Overall, the state will see above average temperatures for the month of January as El Nino conditions persist. Precipitation looks like it will be hovering right around average for the state, but will be most dependent upon where the storm track sets up for the month. WEATHER INFORMATION TABLES TEMPERATURE, December 1-31, 2006 District & Temperature Stations High Low Average Depart/Norm 1/ Degrees F Degrees F Degrees F Degrees F NORTHWEST NA NA NA NA Bowbells 39 -20 18 6 Williston 41 -16 22 8 Mohall 42 -23 18 5 Minot 45 -17 22 10 NORTH CENTRAL NA NA NA NA Baker 40 -19 19 9 Bottineau 37 -28 15 7 Rugby 40 -20 18 5 NORTHEAST NA NA NA NA Cando 40 -18 18 4 Cavalier 46 -19 19 8 Forest River 43 -13 21 11 Grand Forks 44 -8 23 13 Langdon 38 -18 17 8 St. Thomas 43 -15 19 9 WEST CENTRAL NA NA NA NA Hazen 49 -22 23 9 Turtle Lake 44 -17 21 6 Watford City 43 -17 23 6 CENTRAL NA NA NA NA Carrington 47 -16 22 11 Harvey 45 -19 21 9 Jamestown 53 -12 24 11 Robinson 44 -19 21 10 Streeter 54 -16 23 11 EAST CENTRAL NA NA NA NA Dazey 54 -12 23 12 Fargo 52 -10 26 14 Hillsboro 43 -12 23 14 SOUTHWEST NA NA NA NA Beach 50 -17 25 9 Bowman 56 -20 24 6 Dickinson 51 -13 23 6 Hettinger 59 -16 24 6 SOUTH CENTRAL NA NA NA NA Mandan 54 -16 24 10 Linton 57 -14 24 9 SOUTHEAST NA NA NA NA Edgeley 62 -8 26 13 Oakes 50 -11 24 10 Wyndmere 55 -8 25 11 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/Statistics_by_State/North_Dakota/