WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - The United States this year had its warmest-ever January-to-March period since authorities began keeping records 106 years ago, government scientists said on Tuesday.

The latest data also showed temperatures from June 1999 to March 2000 were the warmest on record, increasing the likelihood of more severe weather in the future, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

"Our climate is warming at a faster rate than ever before recorded," said NOAA administrator James Baker. "Small changes in global temperatures can lead to more extreme weather events, including droughts, floods and hurricanes," he warned.

NOAA's findings coincided with a draft report just released by the world's leading climate researchers, who concluded that greenhouse gases caused by human activity have resulted in global warming.

U.S. temperatures from January to March averaged 41.7 degrees Fahrenheit (5.38 degrees Celsius), 1 degree (half a degree Celsius) warmer than the previous record set in 1990, NOAA said. During the period, every state in the continental United States was warmer than its long-term average.

During the three-month period, drought hit the Midwest and Mississippi Valley in particular, the agency said.

NOAA's latest spring and summer forecast shows that most of the United States will have warmer-than-normal temperatures, with some Midwest and Great Plains states continuing to have drier-than-normal conditions.

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