Spring 2026 Banter Thread

[A-L-E-K]

couple nice days on tap before we smarch again

[cmillzz]

2 hours ago, A-L-E-K said:

couple nice days on tap before we smarch again

not really

[Malacka11]

I'm sorry I'm pretty sure I understand the vibe but what is smarch again

[cmillzz]

3 minutes ago, Malacka11 said:

I'm sorry I'm pretty sure I understand the vibe but what is smarch again

he’s implying we’re going back into a cold and wintry pattern, which isn’t true at all aside from a couple brief, seasonal cool shots.

[roardog]

12 minutes ago, cmillzz said:

he’s implying we’re going back into a cold and wintry pattern, which isn’t true at all aside from a couple brief, seasonal cool shots.

Normal highs in Chicago are approaching 50 now and mid 40s in Milwaukee. You're acting like a 55 degree day in chicago is a big deal. There's still a giant pool of well below normal temperatures in Canada so there's potential for some nasty shallow cold on NE winds even if the upper heights aren't low or the 850 temps aren't that cold. If you were talking about St Louis or Kansas City then that's a different story. 

[Malacka11]

48 minutes ago, cmillzz said:

he’s implying we’re going back into a cold and wintry pattern, which isn’t true at all aside from a couple brief, seasonal cool shots.

That part I got, I meant literally what is "smarch" a combination of if morch is march+torch

[A-L-E-K]

sigh

[roardog]

41 minutes ago, A-L-E-K said:

sigh

I think our palm loving friend is wrong this time.

[A-L-E-K]

cold lake breath

[Cary67]

1 hour ago, A-L-E-K said:

cold lake breath

Entering not so blessed climo time. Although on nice warm spring days that NE lake breeze hits late afternoon out here

[Harry Perry]

Ahh, persistent eastern trough with a western ridge. Don’t worry, it’ll overstay its welcome. 

[A-L-E-K]

1 hour ago, Cary67 said:

Entering not so blessed climo time. Although on nice warm spring days that NE lake breeze hits late afternoon out here

That one is penetrating well south of i80 anyways

the ones that sting are when i'm stuck in the 40s and it's in the upper 60s at ORD

[Brian D]

50 minutes ago, A-L-E-K said:

That one is penetrating well south of i80 anyways

the ones that sting are when i'm stuck in the 40s and it's in the upper 60s at ORD

Natural A/C not always welcome. I get it!

[Brian D]

March 20

1991: An early season tornado hits Faribault county from Bricelyn to Wells.

For Friday, March 20, 2026
1924 - A late winter storm in Oklahoma produced nearly a foot of snow at Oklahoma City and at Tulsa. (David Ludlum)
1948 - The city of Juneau received 31 inches of snow in 24 hours, a record for the Alaska capitol. (20th-21st) (David Ludlum)
1984 - A severe three day winter storm came to an end over the Central Plains. The storm produced up to twenty inches of snow in Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas, and left a thick coat of ice from eastern Kansas across northwestern Missouri into Iowa. (Storm Data)
1987 - A storm produced blizzard conditions in Wyoming and eastern Nebraska, and severe thunderstorms in central Nebraska. Snowfall totals ranged up to 12 inches at Glenrock WY and Chadron NE. Thunderstorms in central Nebraska produced wind gusts to 69 mph at Valentine, and wind gusts to 76 mph at Bartley. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
1988 - Squalls in the Great Lakes Region left up to eight inches of new snow on the ground in time for the official start of spring. Unseasonably warm weather prevailed in the western U.S. Seven cities reported new record high temperatures for the date, including Tucson AZ with a reading of 89 degrees. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
1989 - Snow and high winds created blizzard conditions in western Kansas to usher in the official start of the spring season. Thunderstorms produced severe weather from east Texas to Alabama and northwest Florida, with nearly fifty reports of large hail and damaging winds during the afternoon and evening hours. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
1990 - The northeastern U.S. was in the midst of a snowstorm as spring officially began at 4 19 PM. Snowfall totals in the Green Mountains of Vermont ranged up to thirty inches, and up to 15 inches of snow was reported in the Catskills and Adirondacks of eastern New York State. Totals in eastern Pennsylvania ranged up to 12 inches at Armenia Mountain. The storm resulted in one death, and forty-nine injuries. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
2005 - An F1 tornado hits South San Francisco. Trees are uprooted. At least twenty homes and twenty businesses are damaged, including the city's new fire station.
2006 - Grand Island, NE, receives 17.8 inches of snow in 24 hours, breaking the old local record for the most snowfall in a day by 4.8 inches. 29.7 inches in 48 hours also breaks a record.

[frostfern]

On 3/19/2026 at 2:10 PM, Malacka11 said:

That part I got, I meant literally what is "smarch" a combination of if morch is march+torch

If only there was a wiki on Alek-speak.  My favorites are “dab” and “jelly”.  

[Malacka11]

48 minutes ago, frostfern said:

If only there was a wiki on Alek-speak.  My favorites are “dab” and “jelly”.  

Fr he's always set the standard. I think it's just a Simpsons reference fwiw having done some googling

[Brian D]

March 21

1953: A tornado hits the northern St. Cloud area. High winds from thunderstorms are experienced from Martin to Stearns County.

For Saturday, March 21, 2026
1932 - A tornado swarm occurred in the Deep South. Between late afternoon and early the next morning severe thunderstorms spawned 31 tornadoes in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee. The tornadoes killed 334 persons and injured 1784 others. Northern Alabama was hardest hit. Tornadoes in Alabama killed 286 persons and caused five million dollars damage. (David Ludlum)
1952 - Severe thunderstorms spawned thirty-one tornadoes across Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama and Kentucky. The tornadoes killed 343 persons and caused 15 million dollars damage. Arkansas and Tennessee each reported thirteen tornadoes. The towns of Judsonia AR and Henderson TN were nearly wiped off the map in what proved to be the worst tornado outbreak of record for Arkansas. A tornado, one and a half miles wide at times, left a church the only undamaged building at Judsonia. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
1987 - A winter storm in the Northern High Plains Region produced blizzard conditions in western South Dakota. Winds gusted to 70 mph at Rapid City SD, and snowfall totals ranged up to 20 inches at Lead SD. The high winds produced snow drifts six feet high. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
1988 - Bitterly cold weather prevailed across the northeastern U.S. Portland ME reported their coldest spring day of record with a morning low of 5 above, and an afternoon high of just 21 degrees. Marquette MI reported a record low of 15 degrees below zero. (The National Weather Summary) (The Weather Channel)
1989 - Snow blanketed the northeastern U.S. early in the day, with six inches reported at Rutland VT. Morning and afternoon thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds from southwestern Mississippi to southwest Georgia. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
1990 - The first full day of spring was a cold one for the eastern U.S. Freezing temperatures damaged 62 percent of the peach crop in upstate South Carolina, and 72 percent of the peach crop in the ridge area of South Carolina. Elkins WV, which a week earlier reported a record high of 82 degrees, was the cold spot in the nation with a morning low of 16 degrees. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)