Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is a critical degradation process in structural materials exposed to service-relevant environments, yet the mechanisms governing early stages of crack development remain insufficiently understood. In this work, the early-stage SCC behavior of pipeline steels exposed to groundwater environments is investigated. Emphasis is placed on the initiation and evolution of surface cracks prior to the onset of steady-state crack growth. Experimental observations indicate that early-stage crack growth is not dominated by the random nucleation and coalescence of independent microcracks, but is instead strongly influenced by localized deformation and environmental interactions within the plastic zone ahead of existing surface cracks. Under load-controlled conditions, transient increases in the local strain rate may arise from material yielding behavior or the exhaustion of time-dependent deformation processes, promoting surface film rupture and localized dissolution. Consequently, new microcracks preferentially form near the surface and subsequently link with the main crack, leading to crack extension primarily along the surface direction while crack depth remains limited. This process progressively increases the stress intensity factor at the crack tip in the depth direction and facilitates the transition to rapid crack growth. These findings highlight the importance of early-stage deformation behavior and localized electrochemical activity in controlling SCC evolution and suggest that mitigating early crack growth may significantly extend the service life of structural materials operating under conditions conducive to SCC.