sc-crop-weather South Carolina Weekly Weather and Crop Progress Report Released: May 9, 2011 Week Ending Date: May 8, 2011 Issue: SC-CW001811 GENERAL The week ending May 8th, 2011 began with sunny weather and warm temperatures across most of the State. Monday and Tuesday were clear days for planting crops with temperatures in the 80's. A storm system moving along with a cold front brought rain and some hail overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. Cooler temperatures remained as a result of this system, with many areas reporting daytime temperatures in the 60's and relatively low humidity. There were even reports of "rooftop frost" in some areas of the Upstate on Thursday morning. Showers formed over the Southern half of the State on Friday and moved northeast, giving the Midlands and Lowcountry some much needed rain. Dry air followed this system and introduced warm temperatures back to much of the State for the weekend with some areas reporting temperatures as high as 89 degrees. Most operators reported that cotton, soybean, and peanut planting would pick up next week if the weather conditions remained favorable. The State average temperature for the period was near normal. Soil moisture levels were reported at 6% very short, 19% short, 71% adequate, and 4% surplus. The State average rainfall for the period was 0.5 inches. There was an average of 6.0 days suitable for field work. FIELD CROPS WINTER WHEAT finished heading with 100% reportedly headed, finishing ahead of the five year average. Twenty-four percent of the crop had begun to turn color, slightly ahead of the five year pace. Conditions were 1% poor, 15% fair, 68% good, and 16% excellent. Ninety-nine percent of OATS had headed and 36% had begun to turn color, also slightly ahead of the five year average. Conditions were reported as 1% very poor, 4% poor, 14% fair, 72% good, and 9% excellent. CORN planting was completed with 100% reportedly in the ground and 93% of the crop emerged, still maintaining ahead of the five year average. Conditions were 2% poor, 19% fair, 65% good, and 14% excellent. PEANUT planting was reported to be 15% underway, slightly behind the five year average due to dry soil conditions hindering progress. SOYBEAN planting also fell behind this time period last year with 16% planted. Only 4% of the crop had emerged, consistent with the five year average. TOBACCO transplanting neared completion at 99% transplanted. COTTON planting continued on schedule with 32% of the crop planted. OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST LIVESTOCK conditions were 16% fair, 81% good, and 3% excellent. PASTURES were 4% very poor, 2% poor, 20% fair, 72% good, and 2% excellent. CUCUMBERS recovered this week with 94% planted, exceeding the five year average. Conditions were 29% fair, 67% good, and 4% excellent. SNAPBEANS planted remained behind the five-year average with only 80% planted. TOMATO planting had almost concluded for the season with 99% of the crop planted, exactly on schedule with the five-year average. CANTALOUP planting stayed ahead of the five-year average with 95% planted at the end of the week. Conditions were 34% fair, 63% good, and 3% excellent. WATERMELON planting had almost been completed with 97% planted. Conditions were 35% fair, 62% good, and 3% excellent. PEACH conditions were 10% fair, 81% good, and 9% excellent. Crop Progress for Week Ending May 8, 2011 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop and Stage : 2011 : 2010 :5-Yr Avg :: Crop and Stage : 2011 : 2010 :5-Yr Avg ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent :: : Percent : :: : Cantaloup, Planted : 95 92 90 :: Snapbeans, Fresh, Planted : 80 95 94 Corn, Planted : 100 100 99 :: Soybeans, Planted : 16 19 13 Corn, Emerged : 93 95 91 :: Soybeans, Emerged : 4 9 3 Cotton, Planted : 32 36 27 :: Tobacco, Transplanted : 99 98 96 Cucumbers, Fresh, Planted : 94 99 92 :: Tomatoes, Fresh, Planted : 99 99 99 Hay, Grain Hay, Harvested : 59 63 55 :: Watermelons, Planted : 97 96 93 Oats, Headed : 99 96 96 :: Winter Wheat, Headed : 100 98 96 Oats, Turned Color : 36 31 31 :: Winter Wheat, Turning Color : 24 17 21 Peanuts, Planted : 15 14 17 :: : ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Condition for Week Ending May 8, 2011 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop :Very Poor: Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent :: Crop :Very Poor: Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent :: : Percent : :: : Cantaloup : 0 0 34 63 3 :: Peaches : 0 0 10 81 9 Corn : 0 2 19 65 14 :: Snapbeans : 0 0 28 62 10 Cucumbers : 0 0 29 67 4 :: Tobacco : 0 2 28 66 4 Hay : 10 0 25 60 5 :: Tomatoes : 0 0 38 59 3 Livestock : 0 0 16 81 3 :: Watermelons : 0 0 35 62 3 Oats : 1 4 14 72 9 :: Winter Wheat : 0 1 15 68 16 Pasture : 4 2 20 72 2 :: : --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Carolina Weekly Weather Summary for the Week Ending May 8, 2011 On Monday morning, Cedar Creek cooled to 50 degrees before starting a fast warm up to 83 degrees. Most of the state reported sunny weather and high temperatures in the 80's through Tuesday afternoon. Storms, along a cold front that included hail, developed over night and into Wednesday morning. Chester measured 1.02 inches of rain. Daytime high temperatures on Wednesday fell back into the 60's. At 1:00 p.m., the Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station recorded a relative humidity value of just 25 percent. On Thursday morning, there were public reports of "rooftop frost" across parts of the Upstate. Sandy Springs reached 35 degrees just before sunrise. An area of showers formed Friday morning over the southern half of South Carolina and moved northeast. At 10:17 a.m., the Orangeburg AP reported heavy rain. Both the Columbia Hamilton-Owens AP and the Georgetown AP received 0.60 inches of rain. Dry air, on the other side of the rain, resulted in a 24-hour open pan evaporation water loss of 0.31 inches at the Sandhill Experiment Station. Dense fog developed over the immediate coast on Saturday morning. At 1:02 a.m., port traffic in the Charleston Harbor was temporarily halted due to visibilities of one-tenth of a mile. Mostly sunny, warmer weather was observed over the weekend. The thermometers at Lake Wateree, Bamberg and Givhans reached 89 degrees on Sunday afternoon. The state average temperature for the seven-day period was near normal. The highest official temperature reported was 90 degrees at Barnwell on May 8. The lowest official temperature reported was 33 degrees at Walhalla and Chesnee on May 5. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 1.80 inches at Winnsboro ending at 7:00 a.m. on May 4. The state average rainfall for the period was 0.5 inches. SOIL: 4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 73 degrees, Charleston 75 degrees. RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were near normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 71 degrees. Precipitation ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Location : Total : Total : Deviation : for Week : for 2011 : from Average ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greer : 0.79 17.51 -1.1 Anderson : 0.51 14.48 -3.6 Columbia : 1.37 14.04 -2.7 Orangeburg : 0.55 13.63 -3.1 Charlotte, NC : 0.85 13.49 -2.3 Augusta, GA : 0.15 13.95 -2.9 Florence : 0.42 12.69 -2.0 N Myrtle Beach : 0.87 10.88 -2.9 Charleston : 0.15 9.93 -4.8 Savannah, GA : 0.14 11.67 -3.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weekly rainfall totals this period ending midnight Sunday.