According to today's Weather and Crop Bulletin report of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), western storminess continued to boost high-elevation snowpack, especially in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada. By December 11, the average water equivalency of the Sierra Nevada snowpack topped 11 inches (more than 220 percent of average for the date), up from around 3 inches at the beginning of the month.
Across the interior Northwest, snow helped to moisten and insulate winter grains. Meanwhile, large sections of the nation’s mid- section received little or no precipitation, although beneficial snow briefly blanketed parts of the northern Plains.
However, critically dry conditions persisted on the central Plains, where winter wheat was poorly established and susceptible to winter weather extremes. In contrast, significant rain (locally 1 to 2 inches or more) fell from the southeastern Plains into the Tennessee Valley.
For the full USDA report for Dec. 13, click here.