March PNW Winter Weather Chronology

[BLI snowman]

In honor of March being right around the corner, I wanted to dive into the winter weather history of the month a little bit. I understand there was a "hot" debate recently on the virtues of March's winter street cred in the PNW, and the thresholds by which Ma Nature governs it.

One thing that seems clear is that March events, like other months, seem very cyclical and perhaps are more ENSO driven than any other month with La Niña and -PDO/-PNA background states driving an overwhelming number of these in the past century. It's also fair to say that the 18th century delivered some cold that simply blows away 21st century benchmarks in the region, perhaps more dramatically than any other month (even with January's demise).

I'd also say that snow is more frequent historically in March than November, and especially so the further south one goes. However, cold potential is a bit less, though that seems to be less true the further back into our records you go. The research I've done on the 19th century climate in the region actually suggests pretty comparable high end potential for November vs. March in much of the region.

This will be a long enough post as it is, so for the interests of time and preventing TLDR-itis, I figured I would focus only on years with events (multiple in some cases) that fit one of the following criteria somewhere in the PNW lowlands, which I have defined as YVR to MFR: Subfreezing highs, 6"+ snow, or lows under 20. I included some more localized events as well just to underscore the fact that while regional events are rare, we do flirt with bigger stuff a little more frequently than you might expect. 

I'm going in reverse chronological order here so we can all reminisce one generation at a time, but frankly the best data tidbits will be the ones buried towards the bottom. While the climate warming hasn't hit March tremendously hard recently compared to almost every other month, it's pretty clear that the month's regional potential has seen a distinct comedown nevertheless. 

I've included some hyperlinks when applicable too. Cheers to the ides of March!

March 2019: Just slipping in, an easterly focused arctic airmass produced teens in outlying areas on the 4th-5th. Lows reached 16 at OLM and 15 at Arlington. In what will become a pattern, we see a strong carryover from the historic February. Historic cold further east, where places like Colville reached -15 on the 5th. We will see that February and March are often pretty closely linked, for better or for worse.

March 2012: No arctic air whatsoever but multiple waves of snow showers and anafrontal snow, with the jet directed mostly at OR.  The heaviest snow this century hit the OR coastline on the 12th, with totals reaching as high as 8.5" in Tillamook and 6" in Newport. Then on the 21st, a cold front stalled over southern OR and delivered heavy snow throughout the Willamette Valley. Eugene had 7" with highs in the mid 30s, while Corvallis had 5.3" and Salem had around 5".

March 2009: Just barely qualifying, with an arctic airmass moving in from the 8th-10th.  Snow showers were widespread with totals generally under 2-3".Clearbrook had a 33/19 spread.

March 2003: Another just barely entry, but locally was pretty high end near the Fraser River. Clearbrook pulled a 30 degree high and some light snow on the 8th. Extended down only to BLI, with a 33/27 spread.

March 2002: Still the top dog for this century in WA/BC. Three distinct cold pushes, the first was between the 6th-8th which produced subfreezing highs up north with 30/20 at BLI. Snow showers were widespread, with 4" at Aberdeen and 3-4" of very localized PSCZ thundersnow in Downtown Seattle on the 7th. The next push was on the 16th-17th and produced widespread snow showers throughout the region yet again, with local 2-3" accumulations in a number of spots. The final push was on the back end of that airmass and was Fraser River oriented, with a 32/24 day at BLI on the 20th and a big snowfall from Everett up to the border. Bellingham had 10" with this final storm.

March 1991: Another north-centric barely entry. A Fraser River push and overrunner on the 1st, with significant snow in Bellingham and the Lower Mainland. Over 7" fell at YVR and BLI had a 32/26 day with 5". Some light snow shower activity in the backwash trough a few days later.

March 1989: The last major event for the PDX/SEA  areas. Low moved in under an arctic shortwave on the 1st and produced major snow from OLM to the border, with 8-12" amounts common throughout the Puget Sound and up to Port Angeles and as much as 14" near Arlington. Snow was less further north and cutoff near YVR. Gorge outflow also trickled into the Portland metro and produced heavy snow on the north and east sides into the 2nd, with 11" in Battle Ground and 13" in Troutdale, with 3.5" in downtown Portland. Radiational cooling produced lows down to 9 at OLM on the 3rd. Last single westside digit low in the month.

March 1976: A big jump to land back here thanks to the +PDO '80s. This particular event was more north-centric, but the trough produced some lowland snow as far south as the Sacramento Valley with 7" and a 38/30 spread at Redding on the 2nd. This was YVR's last monthly subfreezing high-to-date with a 32/24 spread on the 3rd following a 5" snowfall on the 1st. BLI had a 29/22 and 30/18 pairing on the 2nd-3rd.

March 1971: Leftovers from late February, but prolific cold nonetheless with a slight continental tap. Salem had a 36/12 spread on the 1st with minimal snowcover with 10 at Dallas and 8" of snowcover. Foothill areas in Western OR were hit the hardest with the late February snow, but it was prolific in BC as well. YVR had a 36/18 spread on the 1st with 5" of snowcover. Some wet snow fell later that week, generally 3" or less.

March 1966: Another barely-entry. Month did have two prolific troughs, the first at the start with regional snow showers on the 1st and locally heavy, including 5.4" and 36/29 at YVR. The second trough came around the 20th and produced a localized anafrontal setup that hit the South Sound. OLM had around 10" of the wettest snow imaginable on the 19th-20th, never dropping below 34 officially.

March 1965: Another meek entry, but some of the deepest offshore flow we've seen in March in the airport era thanks to big blocking during what was the coldest official March on record for the CONUS. Localized lows dipped into the teens twice, first to 18 at OLM on the 19th and then again there on the 24th. Some overrunning on that one with light sleet and snow on the 25th from PDX up to the BC border.

March 1962: Another event that was partial leftovers from February, but carried over in a big way with a regional ULL tapping into some Fraser River outflow. Western WA had a major overrunning snowstorm on the 28th and 6"+ amounts stayed on the ground into March in the Seattle region, with the follow-up outflow delivering 34/30 to SEA on the 3rd. Major snowfall fell further north, with YVR receiving 14" on the 1st-2nd as well as locally heavy snow showers further south. Mt. Vernon also received 14" with a PSCZ. The ULL also produced locally heavy snow showers in OR, with 6" in Dallas, 4" in Medford, and 3.3" in Corvallis.

March 1960: Another historically cold March for the CONUS, the 3rd coldest on record. The region benefitted initially before blocking shifted east, with a major low level arctic blast on the 2nd-3rd meeting up with an offshore low for a near-regional battle zone snowfall. The 3rd was the last regionally significant snow in the month with offshore flow, with amounts over 4" basically ubiquitous from EUG north up to YVR, and the heaviest totals being in NW OR with 8.5" at Salem and Forest Grove. The coldest outflow was through the gorge, with PDX landing a 29/24 day on the 3rd after a subfreezing daytime high on the 2nd.

March 1956: A ULL produced widespread snow showers and shortwave activity from the 3rd-5th, with heavy snow mostly focused over Western OR. The main wave hit SW OR, with Medford seeing its monthly record storm of 8" on the 5th-6th and a low of 16 on the 6th.  Roseburg had 7" with this wave and further north Corvallis had  5" and Forest Grove had 8". More snow shower events hit the following week as well, with locally heavy snow near BLI on the 10th and 4" there.

March 1955: The coldest March of the century for WA, with two distinct arctic intrusions. The first was likely the coldest upper level event of the century down to SLE, but distinctly northerly in orientation. Western WA had subfreezing highs north of OLM on the 4th, with 29/11 at SEA following a PSCZ storm behind the front that dropped 3-6" in the Central Sound on the 3rd. Monthly record lows were also set at BLI with 11 and YVR with 15. Some single digit lows in the Central Sound with the snowcover, including 8 at Bothell. The second arctic airmass was more a backdoor shot on the 24th with overrunning on the 25th. Locally heavy snow in the South Sound with 5" at OLM. BLI had a 33/22 day on the 24th.

March 1954: Not super significant outright, but noteworthy for being the latest distinct Fraser River push of the century with an arctic front on the 27th. Daytime highs were below 40 in Seattle with light snow, with a 37/19 spread at Bothell. Light snow fell up to YVR with the front but generally under 1".

March 1951: The century's benchmark event regionally for the month, and in certain cases the benchmark month period for snowfall. Whatcom County was a notable example, with 39" falling in Blaine, the most on record in a month there. Snow depths exceeded 20" throughout Whatcom County. The cause was an extended offshore troughing   episode and ULL pattern phasing with a continental airmass parked in SW Canada the first 10 days of the month. The region tapped into the arctic outflow at times, with one big push on the 5th and another on the 8th-10th. Subfreezing highs were relegated to areas from OLM north but Western OR was still extremely active with 12-18" amounts being the rule and <40 highs down to Medford, including a 33/23 day there on the 3rd. The March monthly record snowfall for the vast majority of stations in the region. Lows reached as low as 10 at BLI on the 10th with the heavy snowcover.

March 1936: A long duration cold spell rang in on the 27th-28th with an anafront-style setup that dropped widespread snow up and down I-5. Heaviest totals were east and north of Seattle,with Sedro-Woolley and Snoqualmie Falls seeing 11", though amounts were generally 1-3" in the region. Snoqualmie Falls reached a low of 11 on the 31st. Highs were also historically cold for so late in the season, with Bellingham seeing a 37/25 day on the 29th. Airmass continued into early April, with Portland seeing a historic 5.2" and 37/31 day on the 1st.

March 1921: A long gap, with the +PDO dominant stretch from the '20s-'40s neutering the month for the lowlands. This was a locally heavy wet snowfall from an ULL, with Bellingham seeing 7" and Blaine seeing 8" on the 11th-12th. Most of the lowlands saw minor accumulations.

March 1919: Another northern-centric event, with late February Fraser River outflow carrying over to the 1st. Whatcom County and the Lower Mainland had subfreezing highs and an overrunning snowstorm, with 5" in Bellingham and 6.5" in New Westminster. A major sequence a little further up the valley, Clearbrook (Sumas) hit an 18" depth and a low of 16, the culmination of several snowstorms.

March 1918: Yet another more north-centric event, with a snowstorm on the 4th followed by some Fraser River outflow. Bellingham had 4" and a low of 14 on the 6th. Clearbrook had 10". Highs were in the mid 30s in Whatcom County.

March 1917: A historically cold March, the coldest on record for OR. No major events, just persistent Niña troughing and spotty wet snowfalls throughout the region. Medford set its monthly record low of 14 on the 1st and significant snowcover carried over from February in places like Eugene, where 6" remained on the ground from the 1st-2nd. 

March 1916: Major anafrontal snowstorm in the Willamette Valley on the 3rd-4th. Front stalled over Eugene, dumping 15.7" of wet snow for their monthly record storm. Highs there were in the mid 30s. Snow extended north through NW OR but generally in 2-3" range.

March 1913: A lengthy cold spell with two pushes of arctic air. The first was a major Fraser River event on the 19th-20th. Seattle had a 34/26 spread with 3" of snow with the front. Subfreezing highs hit north of Seattle, with a 31/22 spread in Blaine and 31/21 in Anacortes. Olympia bottomed out at 17 with this, and 18 with the second push on the 25th which was more easterly in origin. Lows with that also reached 18 in Eugene. Light snow showers occurred that week throughout the region, with Anacortes being the snowfall winner with 4.5" from a PSCZ on the 23rd.

March 1906: Major easterly-oriented arctic airmass following a dramatic ridge retrograde. Moved in on the 11th and hung around through the 18th. Subfreezing highs occurred in the Portland area, with a 31/22 spread in Portland on the 12th and with arctic front snow in the Willamette Valley with 5.5"in Eugene and 4" in Corvallis. Major snow also hit SW OR, with over 12" in Ashland. Further north it was much drier, with widespread lows in the teens. Olympia hit 12 and Clearbrook hit 10 on the 15th. A localized overrunning snow hit the Portland area on the 18th, with 4" in Portland and 7" to the west in Forest Grove.

March 1903: A  major rain/windstorm impacted the entire region on the 10th-11th, with wet snow from Portland north. Amounts were heavy in Seattle, with over 6" falling in downtown. 4-7" amounts were common from Seattle up to the border, and then very heavy snow hit BC. 9" fell in Victoria and nearly 16" in New Westminster. Fraser River outflow followed, with New Westminster hitting 14 on the 13th following a subfreezing high on the 12th.

March 1897: A historically cold month, the coldest on record for WA. Troughing was almost wall-to-wall, but the standout event was a quick arctic airmass from the 10th-13th. Subfreezing highs impacted Seattle and northward, with a 32/25 spread in Downtown Seattle on the 11th following 1.5" of snow. Portland had a 35/28 spread with 2" with the arctic front, and New Westminster had a 29/16 spread on the 11th with a 31/14 on the 12th. Lows reached as low as 11 at Sedro-Woolley with this. An overrunning snowfall moved in on the 13th, with amounts generally 1-4" from Portland-north.

March 1896: Back-to-back years with arctic blasts. This one moved in on Leap Day and carried over into the 1st-2nd, impacting the entire region down to CA with some of the colder low level advection on record for the month. Downtown San Francisco even had 1", its only measurable snow on record for the month. Snow amounts further north were generally on the lighter side, but did reach 4" in McMinnville. Portland had a 31/26 spread on the 1st with 26/20 on the 2nd. Seattle was 31/22 and 32/22 for the same days and New Westminster was 27/19 and 29/18. Subfreezing highs extended down to Eugene with 32/20, which is EUG's mot recent occurrence of a subfreezing high in the month.

March 1891: This was more spillover from a very chilly February. Lows reached 23 in Downtown Portland and 21 in downtown Olympia on the 3rd with highs in the upper 30s, so some outlying areas on the westside definitely reached the teens. A little overrunning snow followed. But the main reason for its inclusion here is also to acknowledge Spokane's monthly record of -10. 

March 1880: Again we find a continuation from a very cold late February, with a chilly onshore flow pattern early in the month producing significant snow in northern areas. Langley, BC recorded around 7" with a storm on the 2nd-3rd. A mid-month arctic airmass added to the chilly month and likely produced some teens in outlying areas, as well as some overrunning snow on the 16th with 3" in the Portland area. 

March 1870: A benchmark event for March, the 3rd in 6 years. On the 12th an arctic front dropped down into WA and produced widespread snow, with subfreezing highs following on the 13th-14th. Seattle had 4" with the front and a 30/14 spread on the 13th.  Eola in the Willamette Valley had back to back 28 degree highs on the 13th and 14th, and Tatoosh Island had an incredible 25/23 on the 12th and 26/19 on the 13th. These numbers over the ocean suggest that highs in areas like Bellingham were likely in the low 20s or even upper 10s. A major storm undercut the airmass on the 14th into the 15th and produced what significant snow from the Salem area-north. Tatoosh notated 7" and Olympia 6".  Seattle records indicate around 9" there with this storm, making it their storm of record for the month. Portland did not give a specific number but the paper reported that a number of awnings in the city collapsed under the weight of the snow, suggesting over 6" likely fell there as well and making it the strongest candidate for Portland's monthly storm of record.

March 1867: The coldest March since European settlement for many areas of the NW and Midwest (St. Paul monthly mean was 4F below the next coldest March). Fort Vancouver had a monthly mean temperature of 36.1 and Fort Steilacoom came in at 36.3, colder than all but a handful of 21st century months and a full 3-4F colder than any other Marches in the modern record. Fort Vancouver had a 28/20 spread on the 12th and 30/16 on the 13th. Fort Steilacoom had three lows in the teens including a 12 degree low on the 13th but no subfreezing highs. On the eastside, the cold was expectedly intense as well. Fort Colville hit a monthly record of -20 on the 12th.

March 1865: A huge arctic airmass continued from the end of February, with a 24/16 day at Fort Vancouver on the 1st and 25/16 at Fort Steilacoom. This was accompanied by a decent amount of snow, not sure on exact totals but enough to "cover the streets all day" in the Portland area. Temps moderated a bit the next day with some overrunning snow. Then on the 6th-7th another arctic front rolled through. This appeared to be a more Fraser River focused event, with Fort Steilacoom producing a 26/12 day on the 7th while Fort Vancouver saw a 32/26 spread. Another overrunning snowfall followed on the 8th with what appeared to be several more inches of snow. Fort Steilacoom had a 34/12 spread on the 8th with 0.35" of precip.

March 1852: Major snow at the end of February and carried over into the beginning of March, and perhaps the greatest documented late season storm for parts of the Puget Sound. Fort Steilacoom had a high of 35 on the 1st. Fort Nisqually (now Tacoma) journal notates snow over 12" deep on the 1st, with 8" still remaining on the 4th.

March 1850: Noteworthy cold throughout much of the month. Fort Victoria journal notated snow on 11 days that month. Appears there was significant snow in some places. Fort Vancouver had an impressive 34/27 spread on the 18th, with a monthly mean of just 37.0 for its 2nd coldest March on record.

March 1847: The tail end of an enormous all-time level winter which saw the Columbia River at Vancouver freeze from mid January to mid February. March also seemed to have its fair share of cold, with a significant subfreezing cold spell between the 5th and 11th which brought more ice to the Columbia at Vancouver and by the 8th had froze Victoria harbor a half inch thick with 4-5" of ice on other bodies of water, according to the Fort Victoria journal at the time. The cold extended south into CA, where Monterey reported snow and high temps in San Francisco dropped to near 40.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Great stuff! March can be a great month. 

[Slushy Inch]

39!

[Slushy Inch]

[TT-SEA]

Great stuff... you should write a book Justin!   Very detailed and thorough.   And now I am going down rabbit holes with your links to old newspaper articles.

I love how they used to publish people's activities in the newspaper like going to visit relatives or the specific reason you were in the hospital.   Sort of like social media today.   

 

[TT-SEA]

Also love this pic... just perfect with the kids on the path.   I believe they are looking at Green Lake there.   What a time to be in Seattle.   

 

[Omegaraptor]

Amazing thread @BLI snowman, greatly appreciate the effort that went into this writeup!

The thing with March is that the upper level temps and offshore SSTs are at their nadir in late winter and early spring, it's the sun angles that we're working against (opposite to November in which the sun angles are low but the ocean and upper levels are still warm). The higher you go in elevation, the more of a winter month March becomes - skiers and snowboarders will often tell you it's the best month to hit the slopes.

[Meatyorologist]

21 hours ago, BLI snowman said:

In honor of March being right around the corner, I wanted to dive into the winter weather history of the month a little bit. I understand there was a "hot" debate recently on the virtues of March's winter street cred in the PNW, and the thresholds by which Ma Nature governs it.

One thing that seems clear is that March events, like other months, seem very cyclical and perhaps are more ENSO driven than any other month with La Niña and -PDO/-PNA background states driving an overwhelming number of these in the past century. It's also fair to say that the 18th century delivered some cold that simply blows away 21st century benchmarks in the region, perhaps more dramatically than any other month (even with January's demise).

I'd also say that snow is more frequent historically in March than November, and especially so the further south one goes. However, cold potential is a bit less, though that seems to be less true the further back into our records you go. The research I've done on the 19th century climate in the region actually suggests pretty comparable high end potential for November vs. March in much of the region.

This will be a long enough post as it is, so for the interests of time and preventing TLDR-itis, I figured I would focus only on years with events (multiple in some cases) that fit one of the following criteria somewhere in the PNW lowlands, which I have defined as YVR to MFR: Subfreezing highs, 6"+ snow, or lows under 20. I included some more localized events as well just to underscore the fact that while regional events are rare, we do flirt with bigger stuff a little more frequently than you might expect. 

I'm going in reverse chronological order here so we can all reminisce one generation at a time, but frankly the best data tidbits will be the ones buried towards the bottom. While the climate warming hasn't hit March tremendously hard recently compared to almost every other month, it's pretty clear that the month's regional potential has seen a distinct comedown nevertheless. 

I've included some hyperlinks when applicable too. Cheers to the ides of March!

March 2019: Just slipping in, an easterly focused arctic airmass produced teens in outlying areas on the 4th-5th. Lows reached 16 at OLM and 15 at Arlington. In what will become a pattern, we see a strong carryover from the historic February. Historic cold further east, where places like Colville reached -15 on the 5th. We will see that February and March are often pretty closely linked, for better or for worse.

March 2012: No arctic air whatsoever but multiple waves of snow showers and anafrontal snow, with the jet directed mostly at OR.  The heaviest snow this century hit the OR coastline on the 12th, with totals reaching as high as 8.5" in Tillamook and 6" in Newport. Then on the 21st, a cold front stalled over southern OR and delivered heavy snow throughout the Willamette Valley. Eugene had 7" with highs in the mid 30s, while Corvallis had 5.3" and Salem had around 5".

March 2009: Just barely qualifying, with an arctic airmass moving in from the 8th-10th.  Snow showers were widespread with totals generally under 2-3".Clearbrook had a 33/19 spread.

March 2003: Another just barely entry, but locally was pretty high end near the Fraser River. Clearbrook pulled a 30 degree high and some light snow on the 8th. Extended down only to BLI, with a 33/27 spread.

March 2002: Still the top dog for this century in WA/BC. Three distinct cold pushes, the first was between the 6th-8th which produced subfreezing highs up north with 30/20 at BLI. Snow showers were widespread, with 4" at Aberdeen and 3-4" of very localized PSCZ thundersnow in Downtown Seattle on the 7th. The next push was on the 16th-17th and produced widespread snow showers throughout the region yet again, with local 2-3" accumulations in a number of spots. The final push was on the back end of that airmass and was Fraser River oriented, with a 32/24 day at BLI on the 20th and a big snowfall from Everett up to the border. Bellingham had 10" with this final storm.

March 1991: Another north-centric barely entry. A Fraser River push and overrunner on the 1st, with significant snow in Bellingham and the Lower Mainland. Over 7" fell at YVR and BLI had a 32/26 day with 5". Some light snow shower activity in the backwash trough a few days later.

March 1989: The last major event for the PDX/SEA  areas. Low moved in under an arctic shortwave on the 1st and produced major snow from OLM to the border, with 8-12" amounts common throughout the Puget Sound and up to Port Angeles and as much as 14" near Arlington. Snow was less further north and cutoff near YVR. Gorge outflow also trickled into the Portland metro and produced heavy snow on the north and east sides into the 2nd, with 11" in Battle Ground and 13" in Troutdale, with 3.5" in downtown Portland. Radiational cooling produced lows down to 9 at OLM on the 3rd. Last single westside digit low in the month.

March 1976: A big jump to land back here thanks to the +PDO '80s. This particular event was more north-centric, but the trough produced some lowland snow as far south as the Sacramento Valley with 7" and a 38/30 spread at Redding on the 2nd. This was YVR's last monthly subfreezing high-to-date with a 32/24 spread on the 3rd following a 5" snowfall on the 1st. BLI had a 29/22 and 30/18 pairing on the 2nd-3rd.

March 1971: Leftovers from late February, but prolific cold nonetheless with a slight continental tap. Salem had a 36/12 spread on the 1st with minimal snowcover with 10 at Dallas and 8" of snowcover. Foothill areas in Western OR were hit the hardest with the late February snow, but it was prolific in BC as well. YVR had a 36/18 spread on the 1st with 5" of snowcover. Some wet snow fell later that week, generally 3" or less.

March 1966: Another barely-entry. Month did have two prolific troughs, the first at the start with regional snow showers on the 1st and locally heavy, including 5.4" and 36/29 at YVR. The second trough came around the 20th and produced a localized anafrontal setup that hit the South Sound. OLM had around 10" of the wettest snow imaginable on the 19th-20th, never dropping below 34 officially.

March 1965: Another meek entry, but some of the deepest offshore flow we've seen in March in the airport era thanks to big blocking during what was the coldest official March on record for the CONUS. Localized lows dipped into the teens twice, first to 18 at OLM on the 19th and then again there on the 24th. Some overrunning on that one with light sleet and snow on the 25th from PDX up to the BC border.

March 1962: Another event that was partial leftovers from February, but carried over in a big way with a regional ULL tapping into some Fraser River outflow. Western WA had a major overrunning snowstorm on the 28th and 6"+ amounts stayed on the ground into March in the Seattle region, with the follow-up outflow delivering 34/30 to SEA on the 3rd. Major snowfall fell further north, with YVR receiving 14" on the 1st-2nd as well as locally heavy snow showers further south. Mt. Vernon also received 14" with a PSCZ. The ULL also produced locally heavy snow showers in OR, with 6" in Dallas, 4" in Medford, and 3.3" in Corvallis.

March 1960: Another historically cold March for the CONUS, the 3rd coldest on record. The region benefitted initially before blocking shifted east, with a major low level arctic blast on the 2nd-3rd meeting up with an offshore low for a near-regional battle zone snowfall. The 3rd was the last regionally significant snow in the month with offshore flow, with amounts over 4" basically ubiquitous from EUG north up to YVR, and the heaviest totals being in NW OR with 8.5" at Salem and Forest Grove. The coldest outflow was through the gorge, with PDX landing a 29/24 day on the 3rd after a subfreezing daytime high on the 2nd.

March 1956: A ULL produced widespread snow showers and shortwave activity from the 3rd-5th, with heavy snow mostly focused over Western OR. The main wave hit SW OR, with Medford seeing its monthly record storm of 8" on the 5th-6th and a low of 16 on the 6th.  Roseburg had 7" with this wave and further north Corvallis had  5" and Forest Grove had 8". More snow shower events hit the following week as well, with locally heavy snow near BLI on the 10th and 4" there.

March 1955: The coldest March of the century for WA, with two distinct arctic intrusions. The first was likely the coldest upper level event of the century down to SLE, but distinctly northerly in orientation. Western WA had subfreezing highs north of OLM on the 4th, with 29/11 at SEA following a PSCZ storm behind the front that dropped 3-6" in the Central Sound on the 3rd. Monthly record lows were also set at BLI with 11 and YVR with 15. Some single digit lows in the Central Sound with the snowcover, including 8 at Bothell. The second arctic airmass was more a backdoor shot on the 24th with overrunning on the 25th. Locally heavy snow in the South Sound with 5" at OLM. BLI had a 33/22 day on the 24th.

March 1954: Not super significant outright, but noteworthy for being the latest distinct Fraser River push of the century with an arctic front on the 27th. Daytime highs were below 40 in Seattle with light snow, with a 37/19 spread at Bothell. Light snow fell up to YVR with the front but generally under 1".

March 1951: The century's benchmark event regionally for the month, and in certain cases the benchmark month period for snowfall. Whatcom County was a notable example, with 39" falling in Blaine, the most on record in a month there. Snow depths exceeded 20" throughout Whatcom County. The cause was an extended offshore troughing   episode and ULL pattern phasing with a continental airmass parked in SW Canada the first 10 days of the month. The region tapped into the arctic outflow at times, with one big push on the 5th and another on the 8th-10th. Subfreezing highs were relegated to areas from OLM north but Western OR was still extremely active with 12-18" amounts being the rule and <40 highs down to Medford, including a 33/23 day there on the 3rd. The March monthly record snowfall for the vast majority of stations in the region. Lows reached as low as 10 at BLI on the 10th with the heavy snowcover.

March 1936: A long duration cold spell rang in on the 27th-28th with an anafront-style setup that dropped widespread snow up and down I-5. Heaviest totals were east and north of Seattle,with Sedro-Woolley and Snoqualmie Falls seeing 11", though amounts were generally 1-3" in the region. Snoqualmie Falls reached a low of 11 on the 31st. Highs were also historically cold for so late in the season, with Bellingham seeing a 37/25 day on the 29th. Airmass continued into early April, with Portland seeing a historic 5.2" and 37/31 day on the 1st.

March 1921: A long gap, with the +PDO dominant stretch from the '20s-'40s neutering the month for the lowlands. This was a locally heavy wet snowfall from an ULL, with Bellingham seeing 7" and Blaine seeing 8" on the 11th-12th. Most of the lowlands saw minor accumulations.

March 1919: Another northern-centric event, with late February Fraser River outflow carrying over to the 1st. Whatcom County and the Lower Mainland had subfreezing highs and an overrunning snowstorm, with 5" in Bellingham and 6.5" in New Westminster. A major sequence a little further up the valley, Clearbrook (Sumas) hit an 18" depth and a low of 16, the culmination of several snowstorms.

March 1918: Yet another more north-centric event, with a snowstorm on the 4th followed by some Fraser River outflow. Bellingham had 4" and a low of 14 on the 6th. Clearbrook had 10". Highs were in the mid 30s in Whatcom County.

March 1917: A historically cold March, the coldest on record for OR. No major events, just persistent Niña troughing and spotty wet snowfalls throughout the region. Medford set its monthly record low of 14 on the 1st and significant snowcover carried over from February in places like Eugene, where 6" remained on the ground from the 1st-2nd. 

March 1916: Major anafrontal snowstorm in the Willamette Valley on the 3rd-4th. Front stalled over Eugene, dumping 15.7" of wet snow for their monthly record storm. Highs there were in the mid 30s. Snow extended north through NW OR but generally in 2-3" range.

March 1913: A lengthy cold spell with two pushes of arctic air. The first was a major Fraser River event on the 19th-20th. Seattle had a 34/26 spread with 3" of snow with the front. Subfreezing highs hit north of Seattle, with a 31/22 spread in Blaine and 31/21 in Anacortes. Olympia bottomed out at 17 with this, and 18 with the second push on the 25th which was more easterly in origin. Lows with that also reached 18 in Eugene. Light snow showers occurred that week throughout the region, with Anacortes being the snowfall winner with 4.5" from a PSCZ on the 23rd.

March 1906: Major easterly-oriented arctic airmass following a dramatic ridge retrograde. Moved in on the 11th and hung around through the 18th. Subfreezing highs occurred in the Portland area, with a 31/22 spread in Portland on the 12th and with arctic front snow in the Willamette Valley with 5.5"in Eugene and 4" in Corvallis. Major snow also hit SW OR, with over 12" in Ashland. Further north it was much drier, with widespread lows in the teens. Olympia hit 12 and Clearbrook hit 10 on the 15th. A localized overrunning snow hit the Portland area on the 18th, with 4" in Portland and 7" to the west in Forest Grove.

March 1903: A  major rain/windstorm impacted the entire region on the 10th-11th, with wet snow from Portland north. Amounts were heavy in Seattle, with over 6" falling in downtown. 4-7" amounts were common from Seattle up to the border, and then very heavy snow hit BC. 9" fell in Victoria and nearly 16" in New Westminster. Fraser River outflow followed, with New Westminster hitting 14 on the 13th following a subfreezing high on the 12th.

March 1897: A historically cold month, the coldest on record for WA. Troughing was almost wall-to-wall, but the standout event was a quick arctic airmass from the 10th-13th. Subfreezing highs impacted Seattle and northward, with a 32/25 spread in Downtown Seattle on the 11th following 1.5" of snow. Portland had a 35/28 spread with 2" with the arctic front, and New Westminster had a 29/16 spread on the 11th with a 31/14 on the 12th. Lows reached as low as 11 at Sedro-Woolley with this. An overrunning snowfall moved in on the 13th, with amounts generally 1-4" from Portland-north.

March 1896: Back-to-back years with arctic blasts. This one moved in on Leap Day and carried over into the 1st-2nd, impacting the entire region down to CA with some of the colder low level advection on record for the month. Downtown San Francisco even had 1", its only measurable snow on record for the month. Snow amounts further north were generally on the lighter side, but did reach 4" in McMinnville. Portland had a 31/26 spread on the 1st with 26/20 on the 2nd. Seattle was 31/22 and 32/22 for the same days and New Westminster was 27/19 and 29/18. Subfreezing highs extended down to Eugene with 32/20, which is EUG's mot recent occurrence of a subfreezing high in the month.

March 1891: This was more spillover from a very chilly February. Lows reached 23 in Downtown Portland and 21 in downtown Olympia on the 3rd with highs in the upper 30s, so some outlying areas on the westside definitely reached the teens. A little overrunning snow followed. But the main reason for its inclusion here is also to acknowledge Spokane's monthly record of -10. 

March 1880: Again we find a continuation from a very cold late February, with a chilly onshore flow pattern early in the month producing significant snow in northern areas. Langley, BC recorded around 7" with a storm on the 2nd-3rd. A mid-month arctic airmass added to the chilly month and likely produced some teens in outlying areas, as well as some overrunning snow on the 16th with 3" in the Portland area. 

March 1870: A benchmark event for March, the 3rd in 6 years. On the 12th an arctic front dropped down into WA and produced widespread snow, with subfreezing highs following on the 13th-14th. Seattle had 4" with the front and a 30/14 spread on the 13th.  Eola in the Willamette Valley had back to back 28 degree highs on the 13th and 14th, and Tatoosh Island had an incredible 25/23 on the 12th and 26/19 on the 13th. These numbers over the ocean suggest that highs in areas like Bellingham were likely in the low 20s or even upper 10s. A major storm undercut the airmass on the 14th into the 15th and produced what significant snow from the Salem area-north. Tatoosh notated 7" and Olympia 6".  Seattle records indicate around 9" there with this storm, making it their storm of record for the month. Portland did not give a specific number but the paper reported that a number of awnings in the city collapsed under the weight of the snow, suggesting over 6" likely fell there as well and making it the strongest candidate for Portland's monthly storm of record.

March 1867: The coldest March since European settlement for many areas of the NW and Midwest (St. Paul monthly mean was 4F below the next coldest March). Fort Vancouver had a monthly mean temperature of 36.1 and Fort Steilacoom came in at 36.3, colder than all but a handful of 21st century months and a full 3-4F colder than any other Marches in the modern record. Fort Vancouver had a 28/20 spread on the 12th and 30/16 on the 13th. Fort Steilacoom had three lows in the teens including a 12 degree low on the 13th but no subfreezing highs. On the eastside, the cold was expectedly intense as well. Fort Colville hit a monthly record of -20 on the 12th.

March 1865: A huge arctic airmass continued from the end of February, with a 24/16 day at Fort Vancouver on the 1st and 25/16 at Fort Steilacoom. This was accompanied by a decent amount of snow, not sure on exact totals but enough to "cover the streets all day" in the Portland area. Temps moderated a bit the next day with some overrunning snow. Then on the 6th-7th another arctic front rolled through. This appeared to be a more Fraser River focused event, with Fort Steilacoom producing a 26/12 day on the 7th while Fort Vancouver saw a 32/26 spread. Another overrunning snowfall followed on the 8th with what appeared to be several more inches of snow. Fort Steilacoom had a 34/12 spread on the 8th with 0.35" of precip.

March 1852: Major snow at the end of February and carried over into the beginning of March, and perhaps the greatest documented late season storm for parts of the Puget Sound. Fort Steilacoom had a high of 35 on the 1st. Fort Nisqually (now Tacoma) journal notates snow over 12" deep on the 1st, with 8" still remaining on the 4th.

March 1850: Noteworthy cold throughout much of the month. Fort Victoria journal notated snow on 11 days that month. Appears there was significant snow in some places. Fort Vancouver had an impressive 34/27 spread on the 18th, with a monthly mean of just 37.0 for its 2nd coldest March on record.

March 1847: The tail end of an enormous all-time level winter which saw the Columbia River at Vancouver freeze from mid January to mid February. March also seemed to have its fair share of cold, with a significant subfreezing cold spell between the 5th and 11th which brought more ice to the Columbia at Vancouver and by the 8th had froze Victoria harbor a half inch thick with 4-5" of ice on other bodies of water, according to the Fort Victoria journal at the time. The cold extended south into CA, where Monterey reported snow and high temps in San Francisco dropped to near 40.

This is incredible!

[Tenochtitlan]

March 2002 I believe I vaguely remember from my childhood. Also, your description of the intense PSCZ reminds me of a different one I experienced, sometime in the late 2000’s…it just poured snow and graupel one evening despite marginal temps and dropped a few inches in central Seattle, in the space of two hours when I was at high school orchestra practice. It all melted overnight

[MossMan]

March 1989 is still top dog in my lifetime. Heavy snow falling that morning, my sister and I in the kitchen listening to Kiro 710am on the radio waiting to hear if our school was late or cancelled, then hearing the announcement of closed and we both jumped for joy! 

We had a foot of snow. 

[Meatyorologist]

18 hours ago, MossMan said:

March 1989 is still top dog in my lifetime. Heavy snow falling that morning, my sister and I in the kitchen listening to Kiro 710am on the radio waiting to hear if our school was late or cancelled, then hearing the announcement of closed and we both jumped for joy! 

We had a foot of snow. 

Probably an all time end to winter in 1988-89 with both February and March opening with top shelf blasts for their respective times of year. Only 2018-19 comes close since then, and even that was only elite in the snowfall department.

[Anti Marine Layer]

On 2/28/2025 at 2:10 AM, Meatyorologist said:

Probably an all time end to winter in 1988-89 with both February and March opening with top shelf blasts for their respective times of year. Only 2018-19 comes close since then, and even that was only elite in the snowfall department.

In case you were not paying attention, winter has overstayed its welcome by 1 1/2 months in Southern California and is not ready to pack its bags yet.

[Meatyorologist]

7 hours ago, Anti Marine Layer said:

In case you were not paying attention, winter has overstayed its welcome by 1 1/2 months in Southern California and is not ready to pack its bags yet.

Your coastal vegitation is going to love this excess humidity deposition/reduced evapotranspiration come September/October when upwelling relaxes and your warm season peaks