Midwest Weekly Highlights - March 8-14, 2014

---

Warming Conditions

Temperatures were much warmer in the second week of March. Though much of Michigan and parts of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio remained below normal, the rest of the region was above normal especially in the southeast and the west (Figure 1). Temperatures in the southeast were up to 3°F above normal and in the west up to 9°F above normal. In Michigan and parts of neighboring states temperatures were up to 5°F below normal. Only Minnesota and Iowa had both minimum (Figure 2) and maximum (Figure 3) temperatures averaging more than 2°F above normal for the week. Average temperatures (Figure 4) remained below freezing in the north where a significant snowpack remains on the ground (Figure 5).
 

Mostly Dry

Much of the Midwest received less than normal precipitation for the week (Figure 6). The exception was a swath from east central Missouri to southern Michigan and northern Ohio. The wettest location was in central Indiana where precipitation totals were more than 0.50" above normal. Snowfall of an inch or more was reported in northern Illinois, northern Indiana, southern Michigan, and northern Ohio (Figure 7). Total snowfall of 5" to 8" extended from the southeast shore of Lake Michigan to the northeast across southern Michigan and to the east southeast to northwest Ohio.
 

-MST-