sc-crop-weather South Carolina Weekly Weather and Crop Progress Report Released: October 31, 2012 Week Ending Date: October 28, 2012 Issue: SC-CW004412 GENERAL Coastal rainfall from hurricane Sandy was the only source of moisture for the State during the week. This favored harvesting, but the drying soil conditions have caused some farmers to delay fall seeding. Crop and livestock conditions declined from the previous report. Soil conditions dropped from the lack of precipitation and warmer than average temperatures and were rated at 12% very short, 43% short, and 45% adequate. There was an average of 6.7 days across the State that suitable for fieldwork. FIELD CROPS COTTON bolls were 94% opened, four points behind last year, and five behind the five-year average. Thirty-six percent of the crop had been harvested compared with 57% last year, and 50% for the five-year average. Conditions declined slightly to 1% very poor, 2% poor, 20% fair, 65% good, and 12% excellent. OAT seeding has slowed and was 29% complete behind last year, and the five-year average of 32%. The dry week helped PEANUT digging to continue. Harvest was 83% complete compared to 67% last year, and 81% for the five-year average. Eighty-seven percent of the SOYBEANS crop has turned color with 54% having dropped leaves. Forty percent of the crop has matured, and harvest was 17% complete. Conditions were down somewhat at 1% very poor, 3% poor, 25% fair, 63% good, and 8% excellent. WINTER GRAZINGS plantings continued at 70% complete with 47% having emerged. By the end of the week, WINTER WHEAT seeding was 37% complete, and 12% emerged. OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST PASTURE conditions continued to decline and were 2% very poor, 8% poor, 29% fair, 58% good, and 3% excellent. Likewise, LIVESTOCK conditions also were lower, being reported at 1% very poor, 2% poor, 18% fair, 77% good, and 2% excellent. Crop Progress for Week Ending October 28, 2012 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop and Stage : 2012 : 2011 :5-Yr Avg :: Crop and Stage : 2012 : 2011 :5-Yr Avg ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent :: : Percent : :: : Cotton, Bolls Opened : 94 98 99 :: Soybeans, Mature : 40 39 38 Cotton, Harvested : 36 57 50 :: Soybeans, Harvested : 17 17 15 Oats, Planted : 29 32 32 :: Winter Grazings, Planted : 70 61 63 Oats, Emerged : 15 13 14 :: Winter Grazings, Emerged : 47 39 37 Peanuts, Harvested : 83 67 81 :: Winter Wheat, Planted : 37 26 21 Soybeans, Turned Color : 87 86 91 :: Winter Wheat, Emerged : 12 11 11 Soybeans, Leaves Dropped : 54 48 58 :: : ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Condition for Week Ending October 28, 2012 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop :Very Poor: Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent :: Crop :Very Poor: Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent :: : Percent : :: : Cotton : 1 2 20 65 12 :: Soybeans : 1 3 25 63 8 Livestock : 1 2 18 77 2 :: Winter Grazings : 8 7 52 33 0 Pasture : 2 8 29 58 3 :: : --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Carolina Weekly Weather Summary for the Week Ending October 28, 2012 Mild to warm, dry weather was observed through most of the work week. At 3:00 p.m. on Monday, Greenville, Columbia, Orangeburg and Charleston all reported a sunny 76 degrees. Tuesday began with sunrise temperatures in the 40's. Barnwell, McCormick and Clarks Hill warmed to an afternoon high temperature of 82 degrees. Dense fog formed on Wednesday morning across the Midlands and into the Pee Dee. The Columbia Metro AP and Florence AP reported visibilities reduced to less than one-quarter of a mile. The Wednesday high temperature at Sandhill and Saluda reached 83 degrees. On Thursday, the cirrus outflow from a distant, Hurricane Sandy began edging into the south coastal counties. The high temperature of 83 degrees at Florence, Hartsville and Jamestown was close to ten degrees above the long-term average. Overcast skies on Friday limited the surface warming and most sites reported high temperatures in the 70's. At 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, light rain from Hurricane Sandy was reported at N Myrtle Beach. Saturday's blowing rain was confined to the coastal counties. The rain gage at N Inlet measured an event total of 0.64 inches. Winds at the Charleston AP gusted to 36 mph. At 5:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, the center of Hurricane Sandy was located 335 miles east- southeast of Charleston and moving northeast. Breezy conditions affected much of the state on Sunday but the strongest winds were near the beaches. The N Myrtle Beach AP recorded a 45 mph gust from the northeast at 11:38 a.m. Allendale and Givhans warmed to 78 degrees ahead of a cold front that arrived during the evening. The state average temperature for the period was five degrees above normal. The highest official temperature reported was 86 degrees at the Marlboro County AP on October 25. The lowest official temperature reported was 38 degrees at Ninety Nine Islands on October 23. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 0.64 inches at N Myrtle Beach on October 27. The state average rainfall for the period was 0.0 inches. SOIL: 4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 69 degrees, Charleston 69 degrees. RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were below normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 69 degrees. To access the SC State Climatology Office Weekly Weather summary from Nov- Mar: http://www.dnr.sc.gov/climate/sco/ Then under "Quick Links"(upper right)select 'Weekly and Annual Weather Report' Precipitation --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Location : Total : Total : Deviation : for Week : for 2012 : from Average --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greer AP : 0.01 32.15 -6.9 Anderson AP : 0.01 33.60 -2.6 Columbia Metro AP : 0.00 37.63 -0.7 Orangeburg AP : 0.00 36.73 -3.5 Charlotte, NC AP : 0.00 29.20 -5.7 Augusta, GA Bush AP : 0.00 30.31 -6.8 Florence AP : 0.00 35.87 -1.1 N Myrtle Beach AP : 0.64 33.23 -12.0 Charleston AP : 0.17 38.21 -7.0 Savannah, GA AP : 0.00 37.82 -4.6 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weekly rainfall totals this period ending midnight Sunday.