Released March 10, 1998, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" call Rhonda Brandt (202) 720-7621, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. National Agricultural Summary March 3 - 9, 1998 Highlights: A cold front brought sharply colder weather to the High Plains late in the week and slowed winter wheat development. In Kansas and Oklahoma, the winter wheat crop was rated mostly good since wind and freeze damage was reported to be light. The crop has just begun jointing in Kansas, but nearly one-fourth of the crop has jointed in Oklahoma. Warmer weather in Texas aided wheat and oat development. In central and southern Texas, winter wheat was beginning to head. The western Corn Belt was hit by a heavy snow storm, while the Great Lake, Northeastern, and Middle Atlantic States remained in a mild pattern. Frost was reported in the Southeastern United States, but no damage was reported to the peach blooms. The cold weather caused only minimal damage to vegetables in northern and central Florida. Pastures were stressed by the cool, wet weather. Sugarcane harvest and other field activities have been delayed by wet fields, but clearer weather in the vegetable areas allowed harvest progress to accelerate. Temperatures remained below normal in California and the Pacific Northwest, but California stayed favorably dry early in the week, allowing field work to resume in most areas. Previously flooded small grain and alfalfa fields were recovering from excessive moisture and were growing well, but some low-lying wheat and barley fields remained wet and growth was stunted. Sunny weather assisted pollination of almonds and early varieties of stone fruit. National Weather Summary Volume 85, No. 10 March 1 - 7, 1998 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Sharply colder air invaded the Plains and upper Midwest, ending a 6-week run of very mild weather. Weekly temperatures averaged 8 to 16 degrees F below normal in areas of the northern Plains affected by the late-February blizzard. For the third consecutive week, cool weather prevailed in California and the Southwest, where readings averaged as much as 10 degrees F below normal. Cooler conditions also overspread the South, including near- to below-freezing temperatures as far south as central and northeastern Texas on March 1-3 and Georgia on March 4. Warmer weather and rainfall returned to the Southeast after midweek, further saturating soils. Farther west, a storm system delivered light rain to California on March 5-6 before intensifying across the Southwest at week's end. As a result, heavy snow developed from the mountains of the Four Corners States to the central Plains and Midwest, while flooding rains erupted across the Southeast. Early in the week, snowy, windy conditions subsided on the northern Plains. February 24 - March 2 snowfall reached 103 inches in Lead, SD and 16 inches in Hulett, WY. By March 3, colder air punched southeastward, producing the lowest temperature (22 degrees F) in Oklahoma City, OK since January 15. Farther east, a 40-day streak (January 20 to March 2) of above-normal temperatures ended in Pittsburgh, PA. Across the South, representative minima of 29 degrees F (on Tuesday) in Lufkin, TX and 30 degrees F (on Wednesday) in Macon, GA were not low enough to cause significant damage to peaches and other early-blooming trees. During the early- to midweek period, precipitation spread from the Northwest onto the northern Plains. In Montana, snowfall covered previously bare ground to a depth of 10 inches in Billings. Farther west, generally light rain returned to California on Thursday. Downtown San Francisco netted 0.66 inches, boosting their seasonal rainfall to 39.17 inches, behind only 1861-62 (49.27 inches) and 1889-90 (45.85 inches). According to California's Department of Water Resources, the State's network of 155 reservoirs contained 9.38 billion gallons of water (118 percent [%] of normal and 76% of capacity) on February 28, up from 8.74 billion gallons (117% of normal and 71% of capacity) a month ago. In addition, the water equivalent of the Sierra Nevada snowpack, which gained 20 inches during February, stood at 40 inches (165% of normal) on March 1. Late in the week, a major snow storm unfolded across the Southwest. March 5-7 snowfall totaled 9.6 inches in Bellemont, AZ and 40.0 inches in southern Utah at Brian Head. Wind gusts were clocked to 56 mph on Friday in Winslow, AZ and 55 mph on Saturday at two locations in Washington County, Utah. Snow spread into the Plains and Midwest at week's end, and by midnight Saturday, snowfall reached 0.6 inches in Lubbock, TX, 6.2 inches in North Platte, NE, 7.0 inches in Dodge City, KS, 6.8 inches in Sioux City, IA, and 4.1 inches in Madison, WI. Farther east, rainfall during the 96-hour period ending at 6 a.m. CST on Sunday (March 8) totaled 4 to 12 inches in eastern Louisiana, parts of Mississippi, extreme western Georgia, and most of Alabama except the northwest. Across southern Alabama, severe flooding developed along the Pea River and its tributaries at Elba, where a levee ruptured on March 8, inundating much of the town. The river crested at Elba on Sunday night at 39.05 feet, the third-highest level on record and 0.72 feet above the July 1994 (Tropical Storm Alberto) crest. In the West, a half-dozen daily-record lows were set on Saturday, including 30 degrees F in Redding, CA, 21 degrees F in Boise, ID, and -18 degrees F in Laramie, WY. Note: US level crop conditions are weighted averages based on 1997 planted acres for the selected states. The next "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" report will be released at 12 p.m. ET on March 17, 1998. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial status. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, USDA, Washington, D.C., 20250, or call 1-800-245-6340 (voice) or 202-720-1127 (TDD). USDA is an equal employment opportunity employer. ACCESS TO REPORTS!! 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