March 2024 Observations and Discussion

[Clinton]

10 hours ago, Andie said:

It looks like 2 more days in low 80’s the a week in mid- to high 70’s. 
Still no rain in site.   
Anyone care to weigh in on that?

Looks like ya have some rain coming mid week along with a risk of severe weather. 

 

[Andie]

Bring it on!!   It’s incredibly dry.  
We’ve actually had to water.

Wildfires are still ongoing and not contained. 
1900 square miles have burned so far. 
When will it rain?

[Tom]

44 minutes ago, Andie said:

Bring it on!!   It’s incredibly dry.  
We’ve actually had to water.

Wildfires are still ongoing and not contained. 
1900 square miles have burned so far. 
When will it rain?

0z Euro bringing some RN & SN for the TX PanHandle...I think this pattern of troughs coming out of the 4 corners will help in the precip dept for this region through mid/late MAR.

[Black Hole]

11 hours ago, Andie said:

It looks like 2 more days in low 80’s the a week in mid- to high 70’s. 
Still no rain in site.   
Anyone care to weigh in on that?

You could have some other scattered rain chances, but I think you and I both get rain Thursday and or Friday. 

[Andie]

Ways to help wildfire victims. 

https://www.newschannel10.com/2024/02/28/ways-donate-wildfire-victims-across-tx-panhandle/

Nothing left but ashes   

https://www.newschannel10.com/2024/03/01/gov-abbott-hold-news-conference-borger-texas-wildfires/

Generations of ranching is gone.  
Families have nothing left but scorched land and dead cattle. 

[Iceresistance]

3 hours ago, Clinton said:

Looks like ya have some rain coming mid week along with a risk of severe weather. 

 

I think you forgot D5

[Tom]

1 hour ago, Andie said:

Ways to help wildfire victims. 

https://www.newschannel10.com/2024/02/28/ways-donate-wildfire-victims-across-tx-panhandle/

Nothing left but ashes   

https://www.newschannel10.com/2024/03/01/gov-abbott-hold-news-conference-borger-texas-wildfires/

Generations of ranching is gone.  
Families have nothing left but scorched land and dead cattle. 

I heard that these fires happened where 80% of cattle ranching is done in NW TX.  Makes you wonder.

[gimmesnow]

1 hour ago, Tom said:

I heard that these fires happened where 80% of cattle ranching is done in NW TX.  Makes you wonder.

Don't ask questions, just eat the bugs!

[OttumwaSnomow]

7 hours ago, Andie said:

Bring it on!!   It’s incredibly dry.  
We’ve actually had to water.

Wildfires are still ongoing and not contained. 
1900 square miles have burned so far. 
When will it rain?

How dry is it? How much rain recent  weeks?

Just .15 here in past 38 days!!! Driest  ive ever  seen

[Hoosier]

Chicago has made it to 70 again, already making it the 4th time this year.

This probably won't be much of a surprise, but this is just the third year on record that Chicago has logged 4 days of 70+ before March 10.  And today, March 4, is the earliest date to reach 4 days of 70+

3/3/1983:  73

3/4/1983:  73

3/5/1983:  75

3/6/1983:  70

 

2/25/2000:  72

3/6/2000:  70

3/7/2000:  78

3/8/2000:  78

 

2/26/2024:  71

2/27/2024:  74

3/3/2024:  73

3/4/2024:  70+

[westMJim]

New record highs set today at Grand Rapids 70, Lansing 69 and Muskegon 67.  A record was tied at Kalamazoo with 72. The 71 at Holland is just short of the record of 72.

[Grizzcoat]

High 79 yday at DSM-- today day high of 45F and brisk N wind.40's feel much colder after a day like yday.

[CentralNebWeather]

1 hour ago, Hoosier said:

Chicago has made it to 70 again, already making it the 4th time this year.

This probably won't be much of a surprise, but this is just the third year on record that Chicago has logged 4 days of 70+ before March 10.  And today, March 4, is the earliest date to reach 4 days of 70+

3/3/1983:  73

3/4/1983:  73

3/5/1983:  75

3/6/1983:  70

 

2/25/2000:  72

3/6/2000:  70

3/7/2000:  78

3/8/2000:  78

 

2/26/2024:  71

2/27/2024:  74

3/3/2024:  73

3/4/2024:  70+

Just noticed 1983 and 2000. 83/84 and 2000/2001 are 2 of the worst winters in our history around here. We can hope 24/25 can rival those. 

[Andie]

4 hours ago, OttumwaSnomow said:

How dry is it? How much rain recent  weeks?

Just .15 here in past 38 days!!! Driest  ive ever  seen

Very similar.  Powder dry. 
I usually see and hear birds by now. None seen.
 I’m sure they’re down at the lake where there’s water.  

[Madtown]

1" of snow here...Stat padder

[hawkstwelve]

Just some slight differences for Nebraska between the 00z GEM and GFS just 90 hours out.

[Hawkeye]

Only 0.02" here today, another bust.

[Minny_Weather]

This has turned into a pretty serious "we NEED moisture" type thing. I've complained about dry air with storm systems a LOT this season, and it's really biting now. The entire state is in a drought. The LotW area looks to be getting a decent wet snowfall tomorrow. Even that won't add up to too much, and neither of the global models gives anywhere else in the state more than a 0.3" of moisture up to the end of their respective runs.

This entire winter has been more reminiscent of Central Kansas than Minnesota basically across the state, which 1) is obnoxious and 2) we have way too many trees for that. Fire season is gonna be not great if this continues into April and May.

[Clinton]

Cooler weather for my area today with temps in the upper 50s.  Warm and windy conditions over the past month have really dries things out.  Hopefully the 1-2 inches of rain the models show for Thursday and Friday pan out.

[westMJim]

The official H/L yesterday was 70/49 both were records for the date. There was no rainfall before midnight the sun was out 40% of the time and the highest wind gust was 32 MPH out of the S. For today the average H/L is now up to 40/24. The record high of 68 was set in 1894 and 1983 the record low of -8 was set in 1948. The record rainfall is 0.82” in 2004 the record snowfall is 7.4” in 1999. The most snow on the ground is 19” in 2014. Last year the H/L was 51/31.

New record highs were set yesterday at Grand Rapids 70, Lansing 69 and Muskegon 67.  A record was tied at Kalamazoo with 72. The 71 at Holland is just short of the record of 72. Record warm minimums were set at Grand Rapids 49, Muskegon 52 and Holland 51.

With light rain falling the current temperature here in MBY is now down to 48 it was above 50 until just before 7 AM.  I now have 0.58" of rainfall so far.

[westMJim]

Some weather history for southern lower Michigan

1948: Arctic high pressure dominates the first half of March with record lows this morning of 8 below zero at Grand Rapids and 5 below at Muskegon.

1976: Thunderstorms move over cold air near the ground to produce one of the worst ice storms in history across Wisconsin and Lower Michigan. From 2 to 5 inches of ice builds up on trees and power lines, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people without power, some for as long as ten days.

 1900, a two-day snowstorm ended which dropped a total of 16.1 inches of snow in Detroit. This is the third heaviest snowstorm in Detroit since 1880! The storm was the last storm in a series of remarkable snowstorms which saw the 7th heaviest snowstorm on February 19, 1900, and then the 4th heaviest snowstorm on February 28-March 1, 1900. The March 1st and March 5th snowstorms helped to make it the snowiest March on record in Detroit, with 30.2″ of snowfall for the month. This is 23.2″ above average!

 1948, there was an all-time high pressure observed at Detroit of 31.04 inches.

Across the US

1894,  The low temperature of 36 degrees in San Diego, California, on this day was the lowest on record for March.

1959, In Iowa, the record-breaking snowstorm on March 4-6 began with light snow in western Iowa on the morning of the 4th, then spread across the state and intensified with heavy snow falling from the night of the 4th through the 5th and into the early morning on the 6th in eastern Iowa. The snowfall and its subsequent effects were less severe in western Iowa and grew progressively worse, moving eastward. In central Iowa, snowfall amounts were generally 6 to 10 inches. In contrast, in eastern Iowa, a swath of about 12 to 20 inches of snow fell roughly from Appanoose County through Tama County and northeast to Allamakee County. Reported storm total snowfall amounts included 12.9 inches at Waterloo, 14.5 inches at Decorah, 16.0 inches at Oelwein, 17.0 inches at Oskaloosa, 17.6 inches at Dubuque, 19.8 inches at Marshalltown, where 17.8 inches fell in just 24 hours, and 22.0 inches at Fayette where 21.0 inches fell in 24 hours. Winds strengthened steadily during the storm, with speeds reaching 30 to 50 mph at times and causing extensive blowing and drifting of snow. Drifts 6 to 10 feet deep were common, and in northeastern Iowa, a few locations reported drifts 15 to 20 feet deep.

Also in 1959,  Near blizzard conditions occurred over northern and central Oklahoma. Up to seven inches of snow fell and winds up to 50 mph created snow drifts 4 to 8 feet deep. In Edmond, a bus slid off the road into a ditch and overturned, injuring 16 people.

 

[MIKEKC]

1 hour ago, Clinton said:

Cooler weather for my area today with temps in the upper 50s.  Warm and windy conditions over the past month have really dries things out.  Hopefully the 1-2 inches of rain the models show for Thursday and Friday pan out.

It's been too warm, a lot trees blooming here in KC and grass/weeds are growing. 1-2 inches of rain will likely shoot the grass up a bit. Come this Thursday, it will be 43 days since our last rain. Last rain was Jan. 24th-25th. (.50-.75) VERY DRY AGAIN!! Some indication that post the 15th of March, we just might see some cold in the pattern (cold for March is 30-40 degrees) and maybe some storms. It's been flashing in and out on the data..we'll see. We need this widespread rain to hit Thursday into Friday. 

[MIKEKC]

19 hours ago, Tom said:

I heard that these fires happened where 80% of cattle ranching is done in NW TX.  Makes you wonder.

It certainly does make you wonder....going to be a bumpy and dangerous year. 

[Tom]

I wasn't really watching the radar late last night but it appears there were numerous Severe Warnings and some TOR warnings issued across N IL.  It appears this region has been a magnet of late.  Lots of Hail reports of over 1" in diameter.  It's going to be a busy season as it should continue well into June IMHO.

[Andie]

3 hours ago, Minny_Weather said:

This has turned into a pretty serious "we NEED moisture" type thing. I've complained about dry air with storm systems a LOT this season, and it's really biting now. The entire state is in a drought. The LotW area looks to be getting a decent wet snowfall tomorrow. Even that won't add up to too much, and neither of the global models gives anywhere else in the state more than a 0.3" of moisture up to the end of their respective runs.

This entire winter has been more reminiscent of Central Kansas than Minnesota basically across the state, which 1) is obnoxious and 2) we have way too many trees for that. Fire season is gonna be not great if this continues into April and May.

Everything you say is spot on.  
The entire States of Oklahoma and Texas are bone dry.  
This raises concerns for farmers, ranchers, and wildfires. 
I’ve already had to turn on sprinklers to supply what would normally fall from the sky as temps rise.  
Everyone I talk to is concerned.  

[gimmesnow]

43 minutes ago, Tom said:

I wasn't really watching the radar late last night but it appears there were numerous Severe Warnings and some TOR warnings issued across N IL.  It appears this region has been a magnet of late.  Lots of Hail reports of over 1" in diameter.  It's going to be a busy season as it should continue well into June IMHO.

Yes, I got hammered. Torrential rain, pea sized hail. Nothing seems to be damaged but it was raining hard. I have drain tile that drains to my garden to auto-irrigate when it rains, collecting rain water off the side of the house since I have no gutters. There was probably a foot of water in the garden. Was pretty wild, definitely finished off the resorts in SE Wisconsin who thought they could recover from last weekend's heat.

[FV-Mike]

little over an inch of rain last night with the heavy storms. Lots of lightning 

[Iceresistance]

@AndieDouble Trouble

 

[Black Hole]

1 hour ago, Iceresistance said:

@AndieDouble Trouble

 

I'd be surprised if we had any severe weather up here, but a good soaking does look likely with at least a half inch of rain, and potentially over an inch if we can get some thunderstorms. 

[Hawkeye]

Latest Euro.... this needs to pan out.

[Clinton]

I hope this forecast verifies, looks like a good soaker.

[MinnesotaSnow]

We are going to need a 2-4” precipitation week in a hurry.

Less then 0.75” YTD and the lack of typical snowpack and frost coupled with record heat has things very dry with a bleak forecast. 

[westMJim]

The official H/L yesterday was 64/42. Even though the high happened at 2 AM it was the 2nd warmest high for the date also the low of 42 was the 2nd warmest low for the date. There was 0.61” of rain fall (here in MBY I had a total of 0.74”) there was no sunshine. For today the average H/L is 40/24 the record high of 68 was in 1973 and the record low of 0 was in 1901 and 1920. The most rainfall of 0.68” was in 1894 the most snowfall of 5.6” was in 1971 the most on the ground is 19” in 2014. Last year the H/L was 41/33 and there was 1” of snowfall.

[Madtown]

This little drought is gonna get out of hand if we don't get some real precip soon. Rivers are 2-4' low with no snow for run off.

[CentralNebWeather]

[jaster220]

On 3/5/2024 at 7:42 AM, MIKEKC said:

It's been too warm, a lot trees blooming here in KC and grass/weeds are growing. 1-2 inches of rain will likely shoot the grass up a bit. Come this Thursday, it will be 43 days since our last rain. Last rain was Jan. 24th-25th. (.50-.75) VERY DRY AGAIN!! Some indication that post the 15th of March, we just might see some cold in the pattern (cold for March is 30-40 degrees) and maybe some storms. It's been flashing in and out on the data..we'll see. We need this widespread rain to hit Thursday into Friday. 

..and just like that, snow drifts and piles are on the endangered species list up here. The one that our contractor plowed up in an open spot along our street is down to about 18" by eye-ball gauge. Time to "spring forward" and Solar Summer is just around the corner. I'm fine with the shift. This is the time of year when I am pretty much done with winter (although last year we had our best month in March, lol). Not sure I can handle another 13-14 endless winter anymore, lol. @Tom I could use a little Pheonix about now.  

[Bryan1117]

On 3/4/2024 at 2:10 PM, OttumwaSnomow said:

How dry is it? How much rain recent  weeks?

Just .15 here in past 38 days!!! Driest  ive ever  seen

0.11" since January 18th here... I am really hoping Nebraska and Iowa can get manage to get some appreciable moisture tomorrow/ tomorrow night. 

[Andie]

On 3/5/2024 at 10:09 AM, Iceresistance said:

@AndieDouble Trouble

 

We’ll take it while we can.  It’s so dry I’ve begun watering. That’s crazy.  
Wish it was tomorrow.  I have to drive across town, but it’s still rain!

[Clinton]

8 hours ago, jaster220 said:

..and just like that, snow drifts and piles are on the endangered species list up here. The one that our contractor plowed up in an open spot along our street is down to about 18" by eye-ball gauge. Time to "spring forward" and Solar Summer is just around the corner. I'm fine with the shift. This is the time of year when I am pretty much done with winter (although last year we had our best month in March, lol). Not sure I can handle another 13-14 endless winter anymore, lol. @Tom I could use a little Pheonix about now.  

I'm not sure winter is done with you, models have been pretty consistent dropping a trough over the lakes and points east around the 18th.  Negative AO and NAO with a big dip in the EPO has the pattern looks ripe for some late season clippers, despite the MJO moving through the warm phases.

[Clinton]

Significant rainfall expected here today and tomorrow.  1-2 inches with some higher amounts possible and we really need it.