March 2026

[bluewave]

Our summer forecast will probably come down to how far east this ridge can expand since it has been stuck in place since November.

This month we are getting dual ridges out West and in the East. Could be some very impressive summer warmth expanding across the CONUS if we get a similar linking up between the ridges like we have had this month.

But the magnitude of the coming Western warmth will be higher than in the East even though several spots like NYC experienced their earliest 80° warmth on record.

 

 

 

 

[SACRUS]

37 / 20 . Cloudy -  stuck in the 40s.  Lake cutting storm pumps southerly flow later tonight and tomorrow ahead of front.  Pending on clouds and rain ahead of the main front, areas could get to 70.  Strong storms Monday - heavy rai , winds gusts , further southwest enhanced to moderate risk w/ islolated tornadoes. Area wide 1 inch of rain between sun night and overnight mon - tue.  Could see some power disruptions with winds/wet grounds etc.  Colder : 3/17 -3/18.  Overall near normal / slightly cooler 3/ 19 - 3/24 before moderation warmer overall but still a bit back and forth and uncertain extent of ridge / warmth.

 

[SACRUS]

 

Records:

Highs:

EWR: 79 (1990)
NYC: 77 (1990)
LGA: 74 (1990)
JFK: 72 (2024)

 

Lows:

EWR: 14 (1993)
NYC: 14 (1993)
LGA: 14 (1993)
JFK: 15 (1993)

Historical:

 

1938: A tornado hit McPaul, Iowa, while moving from southeast to northwest. Another tornado raced through Batesville, Illinois, at 60 to 65 mph. Another tornado causing F4 damage killed 10 and injured 12 in St. Clair County, Missouri. This tornado was part of an outbreak that produced four different tornadoes and was responsible for 11 deaths and 42 injuries.

1941 - The most severe blizzard in modern history struck North Dakota and Minnesota. The blizzard hit on a Saturday night while many are traveling, and thus claimed 71 lives. Winds gusted to 75 mph at Duluth MN, and reached 85 mph at Grand Forks ND. Snow drifts twelve feet high were reported in north central Minnesota. A cold front traveling 30 mph crossed Minnesota in just seven hours. (15th-16th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)

1987 - A winter storm in the western U.S. produced heavy snow in central Nevada, with 23 inches reported at Austin. High winds raked the desert areas of southern California and southern Arizona. Winds gusted to 59 mph at Douglas AZ. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1988 - More than one hundred hours of continuous snow finally came to an end at Marquette MI, during which time the city was buried under 43 inches of snow. Unseasonably cold weather prevailed in the southeastern U.S., with forty-one cities reporting record low temperatures for the date. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1989 - Afternoon and evening thunderstorms produced severe weather from Alabama to the Middle Atlantic Coast. Thunderstorm winds gusted to 80 at Virginia Beach VA. Low pressure in southeastern Ontario produced high winds in the northeastern U.S. Winds gusted to 70 mph at Saint Albins VT. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1990 - Low pressure crossing the Upper Mississippi Valley produced high winds from the Northern and Central Plains to the Great Lakes Region and Ohio Valley. Winds gusted to 73 mph at Iowa City IA, and wind gusts reached 79 mph at Waukesha WI. Winds of 75 mph were reported around Rapid City SD, with gusts to 100 mph. Up to a foot of snow was reported in western Iowa, western Minnesota, and extreme eastern North Dakota. Blizzard conditions were reported in northeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1990: The maximum temperature for the date is 81 °F in Washingon, DC.(Ref. Washington Weather Records - KDCA)
Cherry blossoms peak earliest ever around Tidal Basin (Bob Ryan's 2002 Almanac)


1992: Intense snow squalls that began 3 days earlier finally came to an end over Oswego and Onondaga counties in central New York. Palermo was buried under an incredible 85 inches of snow over the four day period. Parish checked in with 60 inches and Fulton recorded 51 inches. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

1993: Record low minimum temperature of 8°F for March recorded at Annandale-Barcroft Hills Station after the blizzard of March 13th. (Ref. Annandale Weather Records)
The minimum temperature for the date is 15 °F in Washingon, DC. (Ref. Washington Weather Records - KDCA)
New Orleans, LA dropped to 31° to break their old record by 9 degrees as cold air remained in place over the East in the wake of the "Superstorm". Fort Myers, FL dropped at 39°. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

1994: 9 inches of snow on this day brought the seasonal snowfall total at Binghamton, NY to 123.2 inches, the city's snowiest winter ever. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

1997: Marquette, MI established their record for greatest snow depth with 63 inches on the ground. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

1999: Billings, Montana: A record wind gust of 63 mph for March is recorded at Billings. The old record, 61 mph, occurred in 1956. (Ref. WxDoctor)
 

 

2004: Brownsville, Texas, breaks a century-old record for the most significant daily rainfall accumulation for March with 3.23 inches.

[SACRUS]

Latest on storms risk on Monday

 

[bluewave]

21 hours ago, GaWx said:

The map above was not accurately made by Brian B. Examples:

 Providence and much of L.I.  had 200+% of normal (pink), but this shows pink south of them. Bos is also too low.
 This has Charlotte ~normal vs actual of 300+%! It has GSO in NC in yellow vs actual of 200%!

I mainly posted to show the continuing snow hole near State College. It’s difficult for the map generating program to get the grids perfect with such a large gradient involved with the snowfall. This map below has some added numerical percentages. But the resolution is always going to struggle unless you can create a more zoomed in map. 
 

 

[donsutherland1]

1 hour ago, bluewave said:

Our summer forecast will probably come down to how far east this ridge can expand since it has been stuck in place since November.

This month we are getting dual ridges out West and in the East. Could be some very impressive summer warmth expanding across the CONUS if we get a similar linking up between the ridges like we have had this month.

But the magnitude of the coming Western warmth will be higher than in the East even though several spots like NYC experienced their earliest 80° warmth on record.

 

 

 

 

This heat event will be among the most impressive heat events on record relative to climatology. It will rank up there with the March 2012, June 2021 PNW, September-October 2024 Southwest heat events in terms of peak temperatures relative to normal. The national March high temperature mark of 108° should fall. Numerous cities will surpass not just March, but also April monthly records.

[SACRUS]

17 minutes ago, donsutherland1 said:

This heat event will be among the most impressive heat events on record relative to climatology. It will rank up there with the March 2012, June 2021 PNW, September-October 2024 Southwest heat events in terms of peak temperatures relative to normal. The national March high temperature mark of 108° should fall. Numerous cities will surpass not just March, but also April monthly records.

Sat:

Today's record highs include Downtown LA at 92 degrees (previous 90 degrees in 2015), LAX at 88 degrees (previous 86 degrees in 1994), and UCLA at 89 degrees (previous 87 degrees in 2015)

 

[SACRUS]

3/15

 

Sunrise: 7:08AM 
Sunset: 7:03 PM
Daylight:  11H: 55M

Gained 2H15M from the winter lull

Roughly Equivalent to Sep 27th
Gaining a annual max of 2:43 seconds now and through the next week.

 

First 12 hour day on March 17 1th

[NEG NAO]

[snowman19]

Letting my Pivotalwx subscription expire tonight. Not worth paying for it anymore. I’ll renew it again in mid-November like I normally do

[psv88]

54 minutes ago, snowman19 said:

Letting my Pivotalwx subscription expire tonight. Not worth paying for it anymore. I’ll renew it again in mid-November like I normally do

Why? The NAO and AO are going negative…