sc-crop-weather South Carolina Weekly Weather and Crop Progress Report Released: July 18, 2011 Week Ending Date: July 17, 2011 Issue: SC-CW002811 GENERAL Record temperatures scorched much of South Carolina during the week ending July 17th, 2011. Columbia reached 102 degrees on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Mount Pleasant reached 124 degrees on the heat index scale, the highest unofficial heat index value ever recorded in the State. High temperatures continued until late Thursday when thunderstorms began to sweep through many counties in the Lowcountry, buffeted by a front of cooler air moving in from the west. Weekend temperatures were unseasonably cool with highs in the eighties and lows in the sixties. The State average temperature for the week was three degrees above normal. Four counties in the Midlands were upgraded to a moderate drought status while the two easternmost counties in the State were upgraded to severe drought status. Soil moisture conditions were 26% very short, 48% short and 26% adequate. The State average rainfall for the period was 0.4 inches, and there were 6.4 days on average suitable for fieldwork. FIELD CROPS CORN completed silking and 75% had doughed, surpassing the five year average by 4 points. The crop had reached 18% maturity. However, there were reports of farmers harvesting their crops early for silage or sale to cattle producers due to the poor crop conditions. Conditions continued to decline to 43% very poor, 29% poor, 19% fair, and 9% good. Seventy-five percent of the COTTON crop had squared and 40% had set bolls by the end of the week. Conditions were 2% very poor, 12% poor, 47% fair, 37% good, and 2% excellent, a slight improvement from last week. Sixty-five percent of PEANUTS had pegged, remaining far behind historical figures. Conditions improved slightly to 1% very poor, 8% poor, 52% fair, 35% good, and 4% excellent. SOYBEAN planting was completed with 92% of the crop emerged by the end of the week. Twenty-three percent of the crop had started to bloom. Conditions were 6% very poor, 28% poor, 47% fair, 18% good and 1% excellent. TOBACCO completed topping with 23% of the crop harvested, slightly behind last year but ahead of the five year average. Conditions were 4% very poor, 17% poor, 41% fair, 37% good, and 1% excellent. OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST The CUCUMBER harvest was completed and 92% of SNAPBEANS had been harvested. Sixty-four percent of PEACHES had been harvested, continuing to exceed the five-year average, but with an average smaller fruit size. Eighty-five percent of CANTALOUPES and 87% of WATERMELONS had been harvested. TOMATO harvest was 90% complete. LIVESTOCK conditions were 3% very poor, 12% poor, 39% fair, 45% good and 1% excellent. PASTURES were 13% very poor, 35% poor, 41% fair and 11% good. Crop Progress for Week Ending July 17, 2011 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop and Stage : 2011 : 2010 :5-Yr Avg :: Crop and Stage : 2011 : 2010 :5-Yr Avg ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent :: : Percent : :: : Cantaloup, Harvested : 85 78 82 :: Peanuts, Pegged : 65 81 74 Corn, Silked : 100 100 99 :: Snapbeans, Fresh, Harvested : 92 91 97 Corn, Doughed : 75 78 71 :: Soybeans, Planted : 100 100 100 Corn, Matured : 18 13 7 :: Soybeans, Emerged : 92 99 98 Cotton, Squared : 75 82 78 :: Soybeans, Bloomed : 23 28 21 Cotton, Bolls Set : 40 24 21 :: Tobacco, Topped : 100 95 89 Cucumbers, Fresh, Harvested : 100 100 100 :: Tobacco, Harvested : 23 24 19 Hay, Other Hay, Harvested : 80 77 65 :: Tomatoes, Fresh, Harvested : 90 95 90 Peaches, Harvested : 64 56 55 :: Watermelons, Harvested : 87 85 78 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Condition for Week Ending July 17, 2011 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop :Very Poor: Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent :: Crop :Very Poor: Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent :: : Percent : :: : Corn : 43 29 19 9 0 :: Peanuts : 1 8 52 35 4 Cotton : 2 12 47 37 2 :: Soybeans : 6 28 47 18 1 Livestock : 3 12 39 45 1 :: Tobacco : 4 17 41 37 1 Pasture : 13 35 41 11 0 :: : --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Carolina Weekly Weather Summary for the Week Ending July 17, 2011 Hot, humid weather was reported everyday of the work week. Monday's early morning fog at McEntire ANG AP reduced visibilities to "zero". Clarks Hill and Manning reached 97 degrees on Monday afternoon. Isolated thunderstorms brought Allendale an inch of rain. Pelion and the Columbia USC Campus baked under a Tuesday high temperature of 103 degrees. "Steam bath" conditions were observed Wednesday along the coastal counties. Myrtle Beach, Charleston and Beaufort started the day with a sunrise low temperature of just 81 degrees and relative humidity as high as 94 percent. At 3:00 p.m., FAA AWOS instruments at the Mount Pleasant Regional Airport recorded 99 degrees over an 82-degree dewpoint, yielding a heat index value of 124 degrees. This is the State's unofficial highest accepted observed heat index value. The Johns Island AP and Hilton Head AP both indicated a peak heat index value of 121 degrees. Thunderstorm cloud tops reached as high as 65 thousand feet on Wednesday afternoon. Storms over the Aiken AP produced winds of 59 mph. At 2:00 p.m., the Hamilton-Owens AP in Columbia observation was partly sunny and 98 degrees followed by a 3:00 p.m. observation of heavy rain and 82 degrees. The Rock Hill AP received 2.09 inches of rain and Clarks Hill measured 1.60 inches. A southward-moving boundary of cooler and drier air entered the State on Thursday. Pockets of heavy rain were concentrated over the southern counties. During the predawn hours of Friday morning, the saturated atmosphere over Beaufort unloaded with torrential rains. The Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station measured 3.17 inches of rain in one hour that included a peak rate of 0.94 inches in twelve minutes. Edisto Beach was soaked with an event total of 3.96 inches. Unseasonably cool air replaced the tropical conditions for the weekend. Many locations cooled into the 60's on Saturday morning. Rock Hill's high temperature on Saturday was a late September-like 80 degrees. Hartsville, Marion, Dillon and Kingstree reported a Sunday minimum temperature of 64 degrees. Mostly sunny blue skies and warm upper 80-degree temperatures were observed on Sunday afternoon. The State average temperature for the seven-day period was three degrees above normal. The highest official temperature reported was 104 degrees at Lake Wateree on July 13. The lowest official temperature reported was 58 degrees at Jocassee on July 17. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 5.34 inches at the Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station ending at 7:00 a.m. on July 15. The State average rainfall for the period was 0.4 inches. SOIL: 4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 82 degrees, Charleston 84 degrees. RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were below normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 83 degrees. Precipitation ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Location : Total : Total : Deviation : for Week : for 2011 : from Average ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greer : 1.07 25.22 -3.3 Anderson : 0.28 19.53 -6.8 Columbia : 0.01 22.02 -5.2 Orangeburg : 0.00 19.41 -7.7 Charlotte, NC : 0.52 22.34 -1.7 Augusta, GA : 3.12 21.44 -4.2 Florence : 0.10 17.42 -6.9 N Myrtle Beach : 0.01 16.59 -5.9 Charleston : 1.65 19.34 -7.5 Savannah, GA : 1.00 20.91 -5.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weekly rainfall totals this period ending midnight Sunday.