USDA, NASS, West Virginia Field Office
Alissa Cowell-Mytar, State Statistician
1900 Kanawha Boulevard, E
Charleston, WV 25305
(304) 357-5123 
Homepage: http://www.nass.usda.gov/wv

In Cooperation with: 
U.S. Dept. of Commerce - NOAA 
USDA Farm Service Agency
WV Cooperative Extension Service
WV Department of Agriculture

   

Released: January 6, 2025	

                                                                           Issue: 39-24 	

	

Agricultural News:  Weather conditions during the month of December have been a mix of cold and warm temperatures, along with periods of rain and snow. Farming activities for the month included preparing for cold weather, feeding hay to livestock, and repairing fences. There are abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions in the State. 
 
SOIL MOISTURE and SUPPLIES for week ending 1/5/25
	
	Very Short	Short	Adequate	Surplus	
	%	%	%	%	
Topsoil	4	37	56	3	
Subsoil	37	48	15	-	
Hay & Roughage	13	47	40	-	
Feed grain	4	39	57	-	
-Represents zero.		

CROP and LIVESTOCK CONDITIONS for week ending 1/5/25	
Crop/Livestock	Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Excellent	
	%	%	%	%	%	
Winter Wheat	-	16	84	-	-	
Cattle & Calves	-	2	29	67	2	
Sheep & Lambs	-	2	25	70	3	
	-	Represents zero.

December Summary of Weather and Agricultural Conditions
November 25, 2024 - January 5, 2025

For the week ending December 1st, West Virginia began the week dry and remained dry through the day with well above average temperatures. Cold fronts moved in bringing periods of rain and snow and freezing temperatures. The week ended very cold and mostly dry with a few snow flurries. Overall, the Mountain State was cold with near normal precipitation. For the week ending December 8th, the week began very cold and dry after a strong cold front. All stations were 10 to 20 degrees colder than normal. During the week, cold temperatures stayed and brought snow showers. High pressure, with warmer temperatures, arrived back into the region for the weekend. This week was colder and drier than usual. For the week ending December 15th, the week began warmer than normal. Rain showers from a disturbance began early and spread eastward through the day, tapering off in the afternoon. Colder temperatures moved in Wednesday, bringing snow showers. The week ended rainy in the lowlands with mixed precipitation in the mountains. This week was mostly wet with near normal temperatures.  For the week ending December 22nd, Monday was very warm with southerly winds ahead of another cold front approaching. The cold front, along with rain showers, slowly drifted eastward late in the afternoon. A few isolated showers remained until Tuesday morning, but quickly cleared out to become mostly sunny. More rain, and isolated thunderstorms, arrived again early Wednesday. Periods of light snow/rain showers continued into the weekend. Sunday was clear and cold. For the week ending December 29th, the week began warm and cloudy with some rain showers. More warm temperatures and some lingering precipitation lasted into Tuesday, before the high pressure set in for the rest of the work week. Temperatures continued to rise heading into the weekend. The week ended as a strong cold front moved over West Virginia. For the week ending January 5th, the week began with rainfall in the lowlands and snow in the higher elevations. Heading into Tuesday, high pressure took hold with warmer than normal temperatures for the season that lasted until Friday afternoon. A low pressure system approached from the west and brought some snow. Saturday was very cold and dry. Later, a strong cold front approached from the west. This system was cold enough to bring snow to most locations north of the coal fields. The southernmost counties reported mostly freezing rain. The rest of the Mountain State received between two and ten inches of snow. The first half of the week was warmer than normal, the last half was well below normal. Overall, West Virginia was slightly cooler than average. 

Week ending 12/1:  Williamson had the highest recorded temperature of 69 degrees. Elkins, Martinsburg, and Marlinton had the lowest recorded temperature of 16 degrees. The state average temperature was 37 degrees. Morgantown had the highest recorded amount of precipitation with 1.24 inches. Bluestone Dam had the lowest recorded amount of precipitation with 0.22 inches. The state average precipitation was 0.65 inches. 
Week ending 12/8:  Williamson had the highest recorded temperature of 66 degrees. Elkins and White Sulphur Springs had the lowest recorded temperature of 8 degrees. The state average temperature was 29 degrees. Pineville had the highest recorded amount of precipitation with 0.75 inches. Martinsburg and Charles Town had the lowest recorded amount of precipitation with 0.01 inches. The state average precipitation was 0.40 inches.
  
Week ending 12/15: Charleston had the highest recorded temperature of 66 degrees. Keyser had the lowest recorded temperature of 16 degrees. The state average temperature was 39 degrees. Martinsburg had the highest recorded amount of precipitation with 2.26 inches. Wheeling had the lowest recorded amount of precipitation with 0.49 inches. The state average precipitation was 1.33 inches. 
  
Week ending 12/22:  Bluefield and Williamson had the highest recorded temperature of 62 degrees. Elkins had the lowest recorded temperature of 7 degrees. The state average temperature was 35 degrees. Ripley had the highest recorded amount of precipitation with 1.24 inches. Martinsburg had the lowest recorded amount of precipitation with 0.14 inches. The state average precipitation was 0.79 inches. 

Week ending 12/29:  Morgantown had the highest recorded temperature of 71 degrees. Moorefield had the lowest recorded temperature of 8 degrees. The state average temperature was 42 degrees. Bluestone Dam had the highest recorded amount of precipitation with 1.14 inches. Moorefield had the lowest recorded amount of precipitation with 0.14 inches. The state average precipitation was 0.54 inches. 

Week ending 1/5:   Williamson had the highest recorded temperature of 66 degrees. Elkins had the lowest recorded temperature of 4 degrees. The state average temperature was 32 degrees. White Sulphur Springs had the highest recorded amount of precipitation with 2.17 inches. Charles Town had the lowest recorded amount of 
precipitation with 0.30 inches. The state average precipitation was 1.06 inches. 

Temperature and Precipitation Data for the Week Ending 1/05/25	
	Temperature	Precipitation	
			Weekly	Week’s	Since April 1st
 2024	Same Week	Season	
Station	High	Low	Average	Departure	Total	Norm		Last Year	Normal	
--NORTHWEST		
WHEELING	52	12	29	-2	0.53	0.76	19.35	25.22	32.53	
PARKERSBURG	53	10	31	-2	0.59	0.73	26.61	32.08	32.98	
CRESTON	55	14	32		0.50		25.33	27.49		
--NORTHCENTRAL		
MORGANTOWN	60	12	31	-2	0.68	0.69	31.11	26.64	34.07	
CLARKSBURG	59	9	30	-2	0.81	0.70	29.31	29.89	35.28	
BELINGTON	59	9	30		1.12		29.59	32.28		
WESTON	61	11	30		0.95		33.38	36.76		
--SOUTHWEST		
WILLIAMSON	66	21	37		1.85		32.93	30.61		
HUNTINGTON	57	21	36	1	1.72	0.70	30.61	23.64	34.96	
CHARLESTON	62	17	34	-2	1.73	0.75	31.94	24.27	37.61	
RIPLEY	56	14	33		0.35		26.12	26.40		
--CENTRAL		
TERRA ALTA	57	9	28		0.89		31.70	32.75		
ELKINS	51	4	28	-4	1.24	0.73	32.72	33.08	37.13	
MARLINTON	49	11	27		0.85		29.57	27.26		
--SOUTHERN		
BECKLEY	59	17	31	-2	1.66	0.68	27.72	32.50	33.74	
PINEVILLE	63	16	34		1.37		31.92	26.28		
BLUEFIELD	57	15	29	-4	1.24	0.68	33.91	32.84	31.96	
WHITE SUL SP	58	17	31		2.17		29.35	25.38		
BLUESTONE DAM	57	15	30		1.79		30.74	24.64		
--NORTHEASTERN		
MARTINSBURG	57	16	34	1	0.81	0.56	26.90	23.94	31.22	
KEYSER	59	15	31		0.64		30.72	25.01		
MOOREFIELD	54	18	33		0.51		19.60	21.70		
CHARLES TOWN	58	19	35		0.30		25.58	N/A		
										
State Average Temperature	32									
State Average Precipitation	1.06									

Source:
Weather comments and data - Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration National Weather Service, Charleston, WV.  N/A-Not available.

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