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Susan Walsh / AP
The recent warm spell across much of the U.S. has included Washington, D.C., where it was 80 degrees on Thursday -- perfect weather for recreating near the Washington Monument.
So now that March feels like May in much of the U.S., what's May going to feel like? The East Coast and South can expect above-normal temperatures, federal forecasters announced Thursday -- a day when Atlanta and Chicago were among the cities that posted new daily highs.
After a brief cooling, the warm spell should continue through the rest of March, especially in the East, and into early summer across the South as well, said Ed O'Lenic, chief of operations at the U.S. Climate Prediction Center.
"It's warming up mighty early," he added.
Signs of a premature spring range from early cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., to farmers preparing to plant.
"This warm weather will advance crops beyond where they normally are," Reuters quoted meteorologist Joel Burgio of Telvent DTN as saying.
Wheat in the South was ahead of normal, Burgio said, fruit trees are blooming early in the Southeast, and Midwest farmers will be lured into starting spring field work earlier than usual.
"The concern is that if a sudden change to colder weather comes after this very warm interlude, then you could have some crop problems," he said.
But the Climate Prediction Center wasn't expecting that. "Above-average temperatures this spring are most likely from the Desert Southwest through the central and southern Great Plains, the Great Lakes, and the Eastern U.S.," the center said of its three-month outlook, "while the Pacific Northwest and Alaska are favored to be cooler than average."
In Washington, D.C., temperatures reached an all-time high, and in less than a week more than 900 new record highs have been tied or broken. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
This week, dozens of cities have seen temperatures above 80 degrees and much of the region has been 30 degrees warmer than normal.
On Thursday, Atlanta saw 82 degrees Fahrenheit, a degree warmer than its previous record for a March 15 back in 1973. Chicago broke its record with 77 degrees, 3 more than in 1995.
On Wednesday, 307 sites across the country -- the vast majority in the Midwest -- broke their record for the warmest March 14. Ninety-three tied their record.
The same was in store for the rest of the week as well, though a notable exception to the warmth has been the Pacific Northwest where snow, ice and rain have kept winter alive.
This time last year, officials were worried about a heavy winter snowpack and its potential to create massive flooding -- a scenario that played out in many areas.
NOAA
Now, however, the threat isn't snow and flooding but heat and drought.
"What a difference a year makes," Laura Furgione, deputy director of the National Weather Service, told reporters at the agency's annual Spring Outlook news conference.
The drought concerns focus on west Texas and New Mexico -- and more recently Georgia, three-quarters of which is in severe, extreme or exceptional drought.
Drought and dry weather also raise the chances of wildfires.
In the Chicago suburbs, warmer weather was tied to four brush fires in three counties. One destroyed a bar and killed six horses, the Morris Daily Herald reported.
"It does seem like these fires are popping up early," local fire chief Ron Hoehne told the Daily Herald. "I can only assume it's because of a lack of snow or rain so far this year."
So is global warming behind the temperature increase? While "extreme events like we've seen are consistent" with warming, O'Lenic said when asked at the news conference, "it's impossible to connect any single event like this one with climate change."
D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival blooms early
He also cited two naturally occuring factors: La Nina and what's known as the Arctic Oscillation, a measure of changing atmospheric pressure.
The Arctic Oscillation flipped from last year, when it helped create conditions for heavy snow, O'Lenic noted, so this winter has seen "the other side of the AO coin," with cold Arctic air being blocked from coming down into the U.S.
Last winter also saw a strong La Nina, a cooling of the Pacific Ocean, that lasted through spring and impacted weather globally. La Nina did return this winter, he added, but this time it "is fading fairly rapidly."
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
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I live in northern Illinois and I can't wait for global warming to actually happen so I can grow my own citrus fruits in my own back yard.
LOL!
The main thing we must concern ourselves with is if the rainforest deforestation continues and the majority of this rich array of diverse and many yet to be discovered species of floral and animal and potentially cancer eliminating plants are completely irradicated with a reverse of the global jetstream. The consequences of this is unimaginable. I don't know why the rainforest has taken a back seat in our mainstream news media and policy discussions.
You all can sit around and argue about whether on not global warming and climate change is occurring. In the mean time, our schools...including COLLEGES...are teaching students about global warming as if it is fact. I am surprised anyone even disputes the validity of it anymore. I recently took a Global Ecology course at a well-known, well-respected university, and our professor discussed this issue with us as if it were fact. There was no question in the material, and she had substantial proof from credible sources. The bottom line is that we ARE affecting the well being of our planet and the weather patterns through years of irresponsible use of resources. Anyone who denies this needs to remove their brain block, start over with an open mind, and then do some research. The facts are there, and if you don't believe the research, just watch the weather extremes yourself and use some common sense. I wouldn't be surprised if some of you that are spouting off know very little about what's really going on in the world. If you did do some actual thorough research, you might be shocked right back into your senses. It's truly scary times we are heading into now.
Maybe I do need to look into it. I am a very openminded person. however at this point we probably can do very little to change it. Please do answer me one question. Why are other planets heating up and losing their polar caps in our solar system? Whatever is causing that may be our main culprit. Some of our scientists have proven that our entire solar system has heated up. Do you have any answers on that one?
Yes, yes, people $hit where they eat... Any good dog can tell you this is a bad idea.
Keep using that shampoo and fabric softener; deoderant sticks and dryers! Better yet, get yourself an electric car and don't worry about where the electricity comes from.
Oh, and hydroelectric dams are a good idea. Nevermind that they disrupt the natural functioning of watersheds, contributing to inland desertification.
Did you know that you can compost dog poop and use it to build topsoils...?
The claim that the entire solar system is heating up is simply not correct. Go read the article on skepticalscience.com about that claim.
I'm an astronomer. They are not. Further, solation (the measure of solar energy output) has been at its lowest in a century, even while we are setting record temperatures.
Whatever is doing this to the Earth is a home-grown problem; don't look to Mars or the stars when the problem is in your backyard.
Warm and wet! All I have to say is those dam mosquitoes are out already.....
Ok here we go again with the gorebal whining.Still colder than @!$%# where I live but whatever .Guess I'll start freaking out as seems to be the fad .EEeaaaayyygghh , it's .06732 of a degree warmer on average than it was 30 years ago on this day aaahhhgggg !!!!
The global average temperature is about 1 deg F warmer than 35 years ago, according to NOAA data.
Only time will tell about our weather. We all need to be prepared for rough weather as much as possible-just in case it brings bad surprises. Good luck and good night.
In the Chicago suburbs, warmer weather was tied to four brush fires in three counties. One destroyed a bar and killed six horses.
Were the horses getting' drunk at the bar when it burned up ? LOL
Somethings grammar or spell check don't catch. Barn was correct in original story link, the Morris Daily Herald reported
I was at the beach a couple of days ago and the low tide was extremely low. I could see parts of the ocean bottom you don't normally sea. Anyways, something about the Sun and Moon in alignment and gravitational effect. Expect it probably also has something to do with warm temps.
One thing about the "climate change is natural" argument: it forever dismisses any evidence of man-made climate change. No matter what happens to the climate, it's just nature, right? So there isn't any evidence that can satisfy such a person.
Nope. Not true. Simply wondering when the proponents of AGW will stop discarding information that disagrees with their politics. This is the thing that deniers are most criticized for doing. I happen to think neither side is "right," so to speak, because neither seems to be able to paint a COMPLETE picture.
Were the horses to drunk to escape?
If we could just get Rush Limbaugh to stop spewing hot gas,
we could mitigate much of the effects of global warming....
No that would be al the bull@!$%#ter gore..You know, the guy who invented windows 7 and the Ipad while cruising the world in his environmentally friendly private jet ..
Gore never said he "invented the internet" you troll.
"In the Chicago suburbs, warmer weather was tied to four brush fires in three counties. One destroyed a bar and killed six horses"
Why were the horses in a bar? Were they Irish horses?
It's not the climate that's out of whack, it's the supporters and critics of climate change who have gone off the deep end. What a bunch of buffoons. Or baboons, take your choice.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/summary-info/global/2012/3