March 2017
Monthly Overview - March 2017
Wet, with a Few Days of Snow
Wet weather was common across most of the Midwest in March
(Figure 1). The Midwest received 2.94 inches, which ranked as the 40th wettest March on record (1895-2017). Most of Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Lower Michigan had three or more inches of precipitation for the month. Most of these areas were above normal (Figure 2). Some of the wettest areas were in northern Illinois and southern Lower Michigan, where more than twice the normal amount fell. Several stations in these areas had their wettest March on record, including Niles, MI (1944-2017), Bloomingdale, MI (1905-2017), and the Joliet Brandon Road Dam station (1944-2017). Hundreds of daily precipitation records were also broken during the month
(Figure 3). The only state to have significantly less precipitation than normal was Minnesota, where more than half of the state had less than 50 percent of normal (Figure 4). Most snowfall during the month was limited to several events
(Figure 5). The majority of snowfall came mostly during one major event on March 12-13 (Figure 6). An uncommon lake-effect snowfall event from unusual northeasterly winds also occurred along the western shore of Lake Michigan in southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois on March 13-14
(Figure 7). Most areas that did not receive snowfall from those two events, and had less than normal snowfall for the month (Figure 8).
Temperature Swings
Temperatures were slightly above normal across the southern Midwest in March
(Figure 9). Average temperature for the region was 37.9°F, which was 1.2°F above normal. This ranked as tied for the 34th warmest March on record (1895-2017). The first and last ten days of the month were well above normal for most of the region (Figure 10)
(Figure 11), while the middle third of the month was well below normal (Figure 12). These swings in temperature led to hundreds of daily records at both the low
(Figure 13) and high (Figure 14) end for maximum and minimum temperatures.
Severe Weather
Severe weather was reported in every state in the Midwest during March, except Michigan
(Figure 15). Storms during the early morning hours of March 1 started off the month in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, which included several EF-1 and EF-2 tornadoes. Another round of severe weather occurred from a long line of thunderstorms across the western half the region on March 6. More than a dozen tornadoes occurred along the line, with nearly half of them of EF-2 or EF-3 strength. Hail and several short-lived tornadoes occurred on March 9 in southern Missouri and western Kentucky. Storm reports during the last ten days of March also included large hail in northern Iowa and southern Wisconsin on March 23, a tornado in southwestern Ohio on March 26, strong winds, tornadoes and hail in Kentucky on March 27, and hail and tornado damage from a slow moving storm system on March 29-30.
Strong Winds
Strong non-thunderstorm wind gusts of 50-60 mph were common across eastern Wisconsin, northern Illinois and Lower Michigan on March 8. These winds led to overturned semi-trucks on interstates, downed powerlines and toppled trees. Two fatalities were reported in southern Michigan when a tree fell on a vehicle. Another injury was reported in Wisconsin, where a man was thrown out of his semi while attempting to close the door. A plane carrying the University of Michigan basketball team was forced to abort a takeoff attempt from the Ann Arbor, MI airport due to the winds and crashed after running out of runway.
Drought Holds Serve
Drought coverage in the Midwest remained around ten percent according to the U.S. Drought Monitor (Figure 16). Most of the drought occurred in Missouri, where about 60 percent of the state was considered in moderate or severe drought at the end of the month (Figure 17). Drought was also added during the month to southeastern Iowa and southwestern Illinois.
-BJP-