NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

MARCH 2017

5-11: Showery weather covered the Northwest and stretched from the western and central Gulf Coast States into the Ohio Valley and the lower Great Lakes region. Weekly precipitation totaled at least 4 inches in parts of the Pacific Northwest, and locally
reached 1 to 3 inches across the interior Southeast. Snow was mostly confined to the northern U.S., including the northern Plains, Northeast, and Northwest. In addition, a large severe-weather outbreak struck on March 6 in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and
parts of neighboring states, resulting in at least four dozen tornadoes, according to preliminary reports. In Iowa, wind gusts on March 6 were clocked to 77 mph in Lamoni and 69 mph in Ottumwa. A much broader area of the country experienced high winds
during the first half of the week. On March 5, gusts included 67 mph in Cedar City, UT, and 64 mph in Winslow, AZ. In Colorado on March 6, high elevation gusts reached 119 mph on Eagle Mountain and 106 mph at Monarch Pass, while the Telluride Airport
recorded a gust to 78 mph. On March 7, gusts reached 67 mph in Rugby, ND, and Sidney, NE. And, on March 8, peak gusts included 64 mph in Grand Rapids, MI, and 60 mph in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. La Crosse, WI, reported gusts to 50 mph or higher on 3 days
in a row (March 6-8) for the first time on record—something that had never even happened in that location on consecutive days. Early-week showers were locally heavy from the western Gulf Coast region to the Mississippi Delta. Houston’s Hobby Airport
received a daily-record rainfall of 4.79 inches on March 5. On March 6-7, heavy showers accompanied locally severe thunderstorms across the Midwest and mid-South. Daily-record totals included 1.73 inches (on March 7) in Jonesboro, AR, and 0.92 inch (on
March 6) in Rochester, MN. Meanwhile, precipitation continued in the Northwest, where Spokane, WA, collected a daily-record snowfall (4.2 inches) for March 7. March 5-7 snowfall totaled 2.9 inches in Pocatello, ID, boosting its season-to-date sum to 86.4
inches. The only snowier season in Pocatello’s history occurred from July 1992 – June 1993, when 93.3 inches fell. Toward week’s end, snow blanketed parts of the Northeast, while some additional rain fell in the western Gulf Coast region.
Bridgeport, CT, and Islip, NY—both with 4.0 inches—tallied daily-record snowfall totals for March 10. Farther south, Corpus Christi, TX, received 3.21 inches of rain on March 10-11.

12-18: A storm sliced across the Midwest, depositing a stripe of snow before intensifying along the middle and northern Atlantic Coast. Subsequently, portions of the Northeast were battered by wind and wintry precipitation, including snow, sleet, and
freezing rain. The bulk of the Northeastern precipitation fell from March 13-15. Weekly precipitation totaled 2 inches or more at some locations in the Atlantic Coast States from North Carolina northward. Early in the week, snow spread across the
northern Plains and the Midwest. In South Dakota, record-setting snowfall totals for March 12 included 10.0 inches in Watertown and 9.1 inches in Aberdeen. A separate area of snow affected the southern Mid-Atlantic region, where Wilmington, NC, received
1.1 inches on the 12th. By March 13, dailyrecord snowfall totals affected Midwestern locations such as Milwaukee, WI (8.7 inches), and Springfield, IL (4.4 inches). Baltimore, MD, which had received a season-to-date snowfall of 0.7 inch, noted 2.2 inches
of snow and sleet on March 13-14. In Hartford, CT, March 14 featured 15.8 inches of snow and became the snowiest March day on record (previously, 14.7 inches on March 19, 1956). Binghamton, NY, received 31.3 inches of snow in a 24-hour period on March 14-
15, supplanting the former record of 23.0 inches on February 3-4, 1961. In addition, Binghamton’s season-to-date snowfall climbed to 132.6 inches, edging the 1993-94 mark of 131.3 inches. Peak gusts on March 14-15 topped 40 mph, while 2-day snowfall
reached 35.3 inches in Binghamton; 18.4 inches in Williamsport, PA; and 15.6 inches in Concord, NH. During the same period, Portland, ME, measured 16.4 inches of snow and clocked a wind gust to 59 mph, while Worcester, MA, received 14.4 inches and
reported a gust to 55 mph. Other March 14-15 snowfall amounts reached 30.4 inches in Burlington, VT; 24.4 inches in Syracuse, NY; and 23.6 inches in Scranton, PA. Major Northeastern cities “escaped” with a mix of snow, sleet, and rain that limited
accumulations to 7.6 inches in New York City, 6.6 inches in Boston, 6.0 inches in Philadelphia, and 2.0 inches in Washington, DC. Atlantic City, NJ, collected 3.23 inches of precipitation from March 13-15, but had only a trace of snow. Elsewhere,
precipitation highlights were mostly limited to the Northwest, where Troutdale, OR, tallied daily-record rainfall totals (0.74 and 0.81 inch, respectively) on March 13 and 18—and netted a weekly sum of 3.03 inches.

19-25: A pattern change brought a return of precipitation to northern and central California, as well as the Great Basin and Intermountain West. The average water content of the Sierra Nevada snowpack, which by mid-March had climbed to 47 inches,
subsequently lost 3 inches but more recently gained 2 inches. As Pacific storminess shifted southward, showery weather also returned to the central Plains. Farther east, widespread precipitation covered the Midwest and the mid-South. Totals approached or
exceeded 2 inches in a few spots. Multiple disturbances crossing the nation became a little stronger as the week progressed. On March 20, thunderstorms affecting the Ohio Valley led to a daily-record total of 2.44 inches in Dayton, OH. The following day,
Greenville-Spartanburg, SC, netted a record-setting total (3.90 inches) for March 21. Meanwhile, wet weather returned to northern California, where Mount Shasta City measured a daily-record sum (1.51 inches on March 21). Precipitation shifted farther
inland on March 22, when daily-record totals were set in Nevada locations such as Elko (0.59 inch) and Eureka (0.53 inch). Nevada experienced another round of significant precipitation on March 25, when daily-record amounts included 0.43 inch in Eureka
and 0.41 inch in Ely. March 23 featured especially heavy precipitation across the Intermountain West. In fact, March 23 was the sixth-wettest day on record in Salt Lake City, UT, where 1.97 inches fell. It was also Salt Lake City’s wettest March day,
surpassing 1.56 inches on March 13, 1944. On March 24, Burlington, CO, recorded an impressive 2.25 inches of rain. That marked Burlington’s first measurable precipitation since January 20, and represented the first March day with at least 2 inches of
rain in that location since March 7, 2000, when 2.07 inches fell. Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest remained wet through week’s end, with North Bend, OR, netting a dailyrecord rainfall (2.09 inches) on March 24. Farther east, late-week thunderstorms
swept across the South, where Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX, logged a daily-record sum of 2.79 inches on March 25.

26-31: Three discrete storms crossed the nation, contributing to widespread cloudiness and precipitation. Some of the heaviest rain fell across previously dry sections of the central and southern Plains, easing the wildfire threat. Each of the weather
systems also sparked severe thunderstorms, featuring local wind and hail damage and isolated tornadoes, primarily from the central and southern Plains into the mid-South and lower Midwest. Unsettled weather also dominated the western U.S., leading to
river rises and local flooding in the Northwest and late-season snow accumulations at higher elevations of the Rockies and Intermountain West. Despite the clouds and precipitation, generally mild U.S. weather prevailed. Periods of high winds accompanied
the active weather pattern. In southern California, wind gusts late on March 27 were clocked to 91 mph on Whitaker Peak and 63 mph in Sandberg. Later, Sandberg topped that reading with a 71 mph gust on March 31. On March 29, pre-dawn thunderstorms in
eastern Texas resulted in wind gusts to 62 mph in Denton and 56 mph in Grand Prairie. The storm responsible for those winds also produced heavy rain on the central and southern Plains. On March 28, daily-record rainfall totals reached 1.89 inches in
Wichita, KS, and 1.44 inches in Borger, TX. The following day, record-setting amounts for March 29 included 4.71 inches in Beaumont Port Arthur, TX; 2.04 inches in Topeka, KS; and 1.47 inches in Des Moines, IA. Heavy showers persisted in the Midwest
through March 30, when daily-record rainfall totaled 1.75 inches in Lincoln, IL; 1.27 inches in South Bend, IN; and 1.14 inches in Muskegon, MI. On the last day of March, heavy rain swept across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern States, while
significant precipitation returned to the West. On the last day of March, Eastern daily-record totals were set in locations such as 2.10 inches at New York’s LaGuardia Airport; 1.75 inches in Wilmington, DE; 1.46 inches in Atlantic City, NJ; and 1.43
inches in Allentown, PA. Farther west, Lander, WY, received a phenomenal 3.15 inches of precipitation, including 5.7 inches of snow, on March 30-31. Lander set multiple records, including March precipitation (4.65 inches; previously, 3.56 inches in
1906) and wettest March day (2.71 inches on March 31; previously, 1.80 inches on March 18, 1903). By April 1, heavy showers returned to parts of the Plains, while late season snow blanketed portions of the Northeast. Dodge City, KS, tallied a daily-
record rainfall (2.51 inches) for April 1, while Concord, NH, measured a daily-record snowfall (6.9 inches).

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