sc-crop-weather South Carolina Weekly Weather and Crop Progress Report Released: October 24, 2011 Week Ending Date: October 23, 2011 Issue: SC-CW004211 GENERAL Cool, wet weather swept over the State during the week ending October 23rd, 2011. Monday began with warm temperatures across the Lowcountry but gave way to cooler weather by mid-week. A storm system passed through the State dumping over two inches of rain in some locations and dropping temperatures into the fifties and sixties during the day. Locations in the Upstate reported freezing temperatures early Friday morning. Pleasant fall weather was present for the weekend with temperatures in the mid-seventies and clear skies across the State. The rainy weather limited the State to 5.5 days suitable for fieldwork and produced an average of 1.0 inches of rainfall. Soil moisture conditions improved to 9% very short, 29% short, 59% adequate and 3% surplus. The State average temperature for the period was three degrees below normal. FIELD CROPS WINTER WHEAT was 25% planted with 8% emerged by the weekend. WINTER GRAZING plantings increased to 57% completed with 32% emerged. OAT planting was 26% underway with 8% emerged, two points behind the five year average. Eighty percent of SOYBEAN leaves had turned color and 39% had dropped leaves, far behind the five year average. Maturation was 29% completed with 12% of the crop harvested, two points ahead of the five year average. Conditions were 7% very poor, 20% poor, 40% fair, 32% good and 1% excellent. Ninety-three percent of TOBACCO stalks had been destroyed, six points behind last year and the five year average. Ninety-seven percent of COTTON bolls had opened by the end of the week and 45% of the crop had been harvested, six points ahead of the five year average. Conditions improved slightly to 3% very poor, 12% poor, 42% fair, 42% good and 2% excellent. PEANUT harvest continued behind schedule with 58% completed by the end of the week, falling further to 17 points behind the five year average. Conditions fell slightly to 3% very poor, 12% poor, 41% fair, 43% good and 1% excellent. OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST LIVESTOCK conditions improved to 1% very poor, 5% poor, 38% fair and 56% good. PASTURE conditions also improved to 10% very poor, 24% poor, 41% fair and 25% good. Crop Progress for Week Ending October 23, 2011 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop and Stage : 2011 : 2010 :5-Yr Avg :: Crop and Stage : 2011 : 2010 :5-Yr Avg ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent :: : Percent : :: : Cotton, Bolls Opened : 97 98 97 :: Soybeans, Mature : 29 41 32 Cotton, Harvested : 45 55 39 :: Soybeans, Harvested : 12 18 10 Oats, Planted : 26 23 26 :: Tobacco, Stalks Destroyed : 93 99 99 Oats, Emerged : 8 11 10 :: Winter Grazings, Planted : 57 52 59 Peanuts, Harvested : 58 90 75 :: Winter Grazings, Emerged : 32 24 29 Soybeans, Turned Color : 80 93 87 :: Winter Wheat, Planted : 25 21 17 Soybeans, Leaves Dropped : 39 53 52 :: Winter Wheat, Emerged : 8 10 9 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Condition for Week Ending October 23, 2011 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop :Very Poor: Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent :: Crop :Very Poor: Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent :: : Percent : :: : Cotton : 3 12 42 41 2 :: Peanuts : 3 12 41 43 1 Livestock : 1 5 38 56 0 :: Soybeans : 7 20 40 32 1 Pasture : 10 24 41 25 0 :: : --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Carolina Weekly Weather Summary for the Week Ending October 23, 2011 Summer-like warmth returned on Monday afternoon for Barnwell, Summerville, Hartsville and Bennettsville all reaching 88 degrees. Tuesday morning's warm and moist air, arriving over cool grounds, caused dense fog and reduced visibilities rated at "zero" for Johns Island AP and McEntire ANG AP. A broad sub-tropical feature, moving north from Florida, began influencing the southern-most coast with light rain around noon. Moderate to heavy rains developed through the afternoon and overnight hours affecting most of the State. Some of the heaviest 24-hour rainfall amounts noted by Wednesday morning included, 2.28 inches at Pageland, 1.82 inches at Jocassee Dam, 1.65 inches at Sandy Run and 1.32 inches at McClellanville. At 2:00 p.m., Anderson reported 56 degrees while Walterboro reported 86 degrees. At 4:00 p.m., the Rock Hill AP noted the storm's lowest barometric pressure value at 29.31 inches of mercury. Thursday's gusting winds and falling temperatures replaced the stretch of wet weather. Walterboro's previous warm day of 86 degrees cooled to a Thursday high temperature of just 62 degrees. The high temperature in Pickens was 55 degrees. The Upstate sites of Hunts Bridge and Walhalla recorded a freezing 32 degrees near sunrise on Friday morning. Newberry and the airports at Conway and Hartsville all reported 37 degrees. Sunny, seasonal weather was observed over the weekend. While most locations saw afternoon high temperatures in the 60's, Ft. Moultrie, Pinopolis and Givhans reached 72 degrees on Saturday. On Sunday, a mild 74 degrees was recorded at the Georgetown AP, Edisto Beach and Beaufort. The State average temperature for the seven-day period was three degrees below normal. The highest official temperature reported was 89 degrees at Givhans on October 17. The lowest official temperature reported was 31 degrees at Hunts Bridge on October 22. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 2.62 inches at Jackson USGS ending at 7:00 a.m. on October 19. The State average rainfall for the period was 1.0 inches. SOIL: 4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 66 degrees, Charleston 67 degrees. RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were near to below normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 68 degrees. Precipitation --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Location : Total : Total : Deviation : for Week : for 2011 : from Average --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greer AP : 0.73 37.23 -1.3 Anderson AP : 0.72 28.63 -7.1 Columbia Metro AP : 1.52 33.71 -4.2 Orangeburg AP : 0.77 33.95 -6.0 Charlotte, NC AP : 1.36 37.12 2.7 Augusta, GA Bush AP : 1.19 26.49 -10.2 Florence AP : 0.39 25.37 -11.2 N Myrtle Beach AP : 1.17 29.54 -15.2 Charleston AP : 0.95 34.95 -9.8 Savannah, GA AP : 0.69 32.91 -9.1 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weekly rainfall totals this period ending midnight Sunday.