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Page 14 ATER TALK Spring -Summer 1995 <br />f <br />After a winter of relatively snow-free <br />conditions, early March brought significant <br />snows to much of Minnesota.. By the end of the <br />first week of March, most of Minnesota ranked <br />above the median for depth of snow on the <br />ground. However, very mild temperatures in <br />mid-March quickly reduced the snow pack to <br />near zero aver much of the state. In spite of the <br />rapid melt, flooding was limited to a few <br />locations in west central Minnesota. <br />In sharp contrast to the. mild temperatures <br />of March, April began with a stretch of <br />extremely cold days. The cold weather persisted <br />through the month and into May. While the <br />southern one-third of the state experienced <br />early lake ice-out due to warm March weather, <br />the cold early-spring temperatures delayed lake <br />ice-out for many days across the remainder of <br />the state. <br />For example, Mille Lacs Lake completely lost <br />its ice on May 5th. 10 days past the mean ice- <br />out date. The first 70 degree weather was not <br />observed in many Minnesota communities until <br />the second week of May, the third latest <br />occurrence on record. <br />For the period April 1 through May 22, <br />precipitation was well above normal in the <br />southwest to near normal elsewhere (see Figure <br />1). Normal to above normal precipitation, along <br />with reduced evaporation rates (due to the cool <br />temperatures) produced very wet soil <br />conditions. Wet soils led to significant delays in <br />agricultural field operations. Crops across the <br />state appear to be in excellent condition, <br />especially compared to the neighboring midwest <br />states. Some flooding in the midwest has <br />equalled the flooding of 1.993. <br />®tion <br />