Released March 31, 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 23 - 29, 1998 Highlights: Higher temperatures, combined with dry, windy conditions rapidly dried the soggy Southeast, allowing farmers to make excellent progress on spring fieldwork. Tillage and corn planting activities were the top priorities as farmers worked around remaining wet spots. By the end of the week, Mississippi corn growers were caught up to the average planting progress, but Georgia corn growers were still a week behind normal. Cotton planting also got underway. Very warm weather in the central and southern Plains promoted emergence and crop development. In Kansas, Oklahoma, and the Texas plains, the winter wheat crop made good progress with substantial acreage entering the jointing stage. In the Blacklands and south-central Texas, winter wheat continued to head out. Strong winds stressed emerged seedlings in Oklahoma and Texas. Some Texas cotton fields became so dry that farmers were forced to replant. The northern Plains, Corn Belt, and Northeast also experienced unseasonably warm weather, but fieldwork was limited in some areas by heavy rainfall, especially in the western Corn Belt. Small grains were planted where rainfall was lighter. Colorado barley and oat seedings were ahead of normal. In New England, maple producers benefited from strong temperature variations, but sap flow declined in southern New York when record-high temperatures entered the State late in the week. Field activities in California and the Pacific Northwest were hampered by rain and wet soils for much of the week. In the San Joaquin Valley, strong winds caused some lodging of small grains. Between storms, farmers managed to plant a few fields of corn and cotton. National Weather Summary Volume 85, No. 13 March 22 - 28, 1998 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Summer-like weather suddenly replaced wintry conditions in the eastern two-thirds of the Nation, while cool, unsettled weather displaced a mild and relatively tranquil pattern in the Far West. Additionally, most States along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Coast experienced a rare event this year--dry weather. Unfortunately, after a month's respite, heavy rains (2 to 4 inches) returned to southern California, producing another round of mudslides and flash flooding, while snows blanketed the Sierra Nevada and higher elevations of southern California as readings dropped into the 30's by week's end. In sharp contrast, the mercury climbed to record-high levels in the southern Rockies and Plains Monday through Wednesday. Farther east, after a cool start to the week, temperatures rebounded into the 70's across the Great Lakes on Thursday and into the 80's by Saturday in New England, including all-time March record highs (86 deg F) at both Blue Hill Observatory, MA and Concord, NH. All told, over 100 daily record highs were set, and more than 60 record-high minimums were established. The greatest temperature departures (+9 to +16 deg F), however, were located in the central Rockies and Plains as alternating conditions kept weekly departures close to normal in the western and eastern thirds of the country. Across central and northern Alaska, temperatures averaged 10 to 20 deg F above normal for the third consecutive week, although more seasonable readings occurred after midweek. In Hawaii, cool and showery weather finally brought some measurable March rain to Honolulu--but only 0.02 inches. Other locations reported 0.10 to 0.60 inches; however, these weekly totals were still well below normal. On Sunday, an intense but departing storm system off Cape Cod dropped the week's only significant precipitation in the East on New England as a large dome of high pressure gradually slipped southeastward out of Canada into the Great Lakes and mid-Atlantic regions, keeping the eastern third of the United States cool and relatively dry the first half of the week. Meanwhile in the Far West, a strong Pacific storm system brought heavy rain and strong winds to northern California and southern Oregon, including a record 2.04 inches at Eureka, CA on March 22. Ahead of the approaching system, warm southwesterly flow began to push the mercury to record-high levels in the southern and central Rockies and Plains. During Monday, at least 25 locations, mostly in Utah, New Mexico, and western Texas, set record highs, including 90 deg F at Midland, TX, while another 21stations tied or broke their record high on Tuesday. The warmth also persisted into the night as 19 cities observed their highest minimum temperature for the 24th. As the cold front advanced southeastward into southern California by Tuesday, unstable cold air aloft generated severe thunderstorms in central portions of the State that dropped hail and heavy rains, and spawned a few weak tornadoes. By Wednesday afternoon, rain totals of 1 to 3 inches were common across southern California, with 6 to 18 inches of snow falling overnight on the San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego Mountains. Unsettled, cool weather spread over the Southwest in response to a slow-moving upper-air low pressure center. Farther east, 13 more record highs and 11 additional high lows were set on March 25 as the warmth advanced northeastward, while the cool high pressure center retreated off the Delaware coast. Eight more locations, mainly in the Great Lakes, reported record warmth on Thursday, and eight others observed record-high minimums. Record warmth finally spread to the East by Friday, with 24 and 16 maximum and high minimum records set, respectively. The next day, the thermometer broke 80 deg F northward into central Vermont and New Hampshire as another 13 records fell. Meanwhile, the Southwestern storm system slowly tracked northeastward, producing showers and thunderstorms in the central Plains and upper Midwest. Grand Island, NE measured a record 1.57 inches of rain on March 27 while Ely, NV set a daily and March record of 1.02 inches. As the leading edge of cooler air slowly tracked into the unseasonably warm and humid air on Saturday, severe thunderstorms developed in the Midwest, including a tornadic cell that caused considerable property damage in Mattoon, IL. In the cooler air to the north, light to moderate rains dampened the north-central Great Plains and western Great Lakes. A trailing upper-air disturbance over Arizona kept the Southwest unsettled and unseasonably cold. The 0.37 inches of rain at Bakersfield, CA on Saturday was enough to push their seasonal total to a record 11.75 inches. 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 April 7, 1998. 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