Released March 24, 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 16 - 22, 1998 Highlights: Planting, spring tillage, and crop development were slowed by a powerful storm that brought snow and below-normal temperatures to an area extending from the southern Plains to New England. The storm slowed development of the winter wheat crop, especially in Kansas where jointing is behind normal. Farther south, development was not as affected. In Oklahoma, the crop was jointing ahead of normal, and in Texas the crop continued to head out. The winter wheat condition remained mostly good. As the storm proceeded eastward, it dropped heavy rainfall on the already saturated Southeastern States, further delaying field preparation and planting. Storm-related tillage delays were not as severe in Texas. However, recently planted crops were germinating slowly and some emerged corn and cotton fields were showing stress due to low temperatures. In the western Corn Belt and northern Plains, temperatures were mostly normal and precipitation was light. Warmer weather in Florida helped vegetable plant growth, but citrus bloom development remained slow. California and the Pacific Northwest experienced warm, dry weather most of the week, allowing field preparation and planting to resume a normal pace. The sunny weather also allowed growers to work in orchards and vineyards. Some cotton was planted in the San Joaquin Valley, but soil temperatures were still too low in most areas. Warm weather aided spring vegetables. Early varieties of almonds, stone fruit, and grapes were developing leaves, while later varieties were in bloom. National Weather Summary Volume 85, No.12 March 15 - 21, 1998 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Although spring officially began on Friday, winter refused to relinquish its grip on most of the Nation east of the Rockies for the second consecutive week. Subnormal temperatures and unseasonably heavy snows blanketed parts of the central Rockies and Plains, Midwest, and New England. In Colorado, over a foot of snow fell in lower elevations while two to three feet covered foothills and mountainous areas. In the East, generally less than a foot of snow fell, but in some locations this snowfall exceeded its entire winter 1997-98 total. Weekly temperatures averaged 3 deg F to 13 deg F below normal from southwestern Texas northeastward to the Great Lakes Region, and 3 deg F to 6 deg F below normal from central Georgia northeastward into Maine. Fortunately, readings were not as severe as last week's Arctic outbreak as the mercury remained above freezing across the Southeast. The region, however, was not left unscathed as severe thunderstorms battered the Southeast, producing hail and spawning deadly tornadoes in northeastern Georgia and central North Carolina that took 11 lives near Gainesville, GA and two in Stoneville, NC Friday morning. The pair of strong storm systems responsible for this week's stormy weather also dropped moderate to heavy rains on a large portion of the south-central Great Plains, middle Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Valleys, central Gulf Coast, and the Atlantic Coast states. The rains fell on already-saturated soils, necessitating dozens of flash flood warnings and causing numerous rivers to overflow their banks. In contrast, much of the West observed mild and dry weather, except for early week showers in the Southwest and rains from an approaching cold front at the week's end in northern California. Farther north, persistent southerly flow pushed temperatures to record highs in Alaska as weekly departures ranged between +15 deg F and +26 deg F across central and northern sections of the state. Early in the week, a storm system rapidly intensified over southern New Mexico, generating showers and thunderstorms across Texas and Oklahoma. On Sunday, a record 0.93 inches of rain dampened Del Rio, TX while six to twelve inches of snow blanketed the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandle and the mountains of New Mexico. On Monday, strong thunderstorms dropped a record 1.34 and 1.23 inches of rain on Austin and San Antonio, TX, respectively. As the system slowly tracked northeast, heavy rains pushed northeastward into the central Great Plains, Midwest, and southern Mississippi Valley, including record rainfall of 1.62 inches at Peoria, IL on March 17. As the moisture pushed northward into Michigan and the retreating cold air, 5 to 10 inches of snow fell on northern sections, setting a new March record of 40.0 inches at Alpena, MI after minimal snowfall this winter. A large area of high pressure over the Great Lakes region kept the eastern half of the Nation relatively dry and chilly, although the bitterly cold Arctic air was confined to Canada and northern Michigan. Record lows set at Houghton Lake (-10 deg F), Alpena (-9 deg F), and Muskegon, MI (9 deg F). Fortunately, the dry weather allowed swollen rivers to recede in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. By Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday, a second storm system dropped southeastward into the central Rockies and rapidly developed. Heavy snow (1 to 3 feet) covered much of Colorado, including nearly 2 feet at Colorado Springs, CO. Meanwhile, the first storm system slowly moved into southeastern Canada, generating widespread showers and thunderstorms from Florida northward into New England. The rains were locally heavy, and dumped record rainfall for March 19 at Bridgeport, CT (1.56 inches), Newark, NJ (1.40 inches), Melbourne, FL (3.22 inches), and Orlando, FL (2.17 inches). By Thursday, the second storm system intensified further and moved eastward over the western Ohio Valley, producing a second round of rainfall for the Midwest and East. By Friday morning, the deep low pressure area was centered over Kentucky and spreading a large canopy of cold rain to the north, with snow along the fringe in northern parts of Missouri and Illinois. Severe weather developed in the warm sector to the southeast, with the deadly outbreak of tornadoes in northern Georgia early in the morning, and more killer tornadoes in North Carolina later in the day. Numerous thunderstorms spread heavy rains northward Friday night into the Mid-Atlantic States, while snow fell to the north. With the storm centered near the Delaware coast by Saturday afternoon, snow was falling from Pennsylvania into New England. The five inches recorded in New York City by Sunday afternoon was 10 times the amount that had accumulated for the entire season up to this weekend. More spring-like weather, however, prevailed in Alaska, where Barrow and Juneau tied the record high temperature for the month of March with readings of 34 deg F and 61 deg F, respectively, on Saturday. 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 31, 1998. 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