Widespread Warmth

Average temperatures were 10-15°F above normal across the Midwest this past week, with the exception of southern parts of the region, like Kentucky, where average temperatures were 5-8°F above normal (Figure 1). The largest departures were in the northern parts of the region, where Minnesota averaged 12.4°F above normal for the week. This was followed closely by Wisconsin at 12.2°F above normal, and Michigan at 11.5°F above normal. In Kentucky, the average temperature was 6.6°F above normal.

Minimum temperatures were generally 10-12°F above normal through the Upper Midwest, and 6-10°F above normal through the rest of the region (Figure 2). In Charleston, Illinois, a station with over 126 years of records, the minimum temperature was 60°F on March 14, which was both a daily record and the warmest minimum temperature in March in Charleston since 2016.

Maximum temperatures were quite anomalous, reaching 20°F+ above normal for the week in Minnesota and Iowa (Figure 3). In most of the region, maximum temperatures averaged 12-17°F above normal, and generally 8-10°F above normal for southern areas. In Artichoke Lake, Minnesota, the temperature reached 60°F or higher March 10-13 for 4 consecutive days, which hasn’t occurred there in March since 2012. Rochester, Minnesota reached 74°F on March 11, which was 37°F above normal and the warmest March temperature since 2012. In Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the temperature reached 69°F on March 12, the warmest March temperature since 2009. In total, over 300 high temperature records were set during the second week of the month alone (Figure 4).

Precipitation/Severe Weather

Most of Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and Michigan’s UP received little to no precipitation (Figure 5). On the other hand, most of Michigan, northern Indiana, northern Illinois, southern Iowa and much of Missouri received 175-200 percent of normal precipitation. This was generally in the form of rain, except in Michigan, where northern parts of the lower peninsula received 3-4 inches of snow (Figure 6). While some rain fell early in the period, the heaviest rain fell March 13-14, with many spots in northern Missouri picking up nearly 2 inches of rain. On March 14, 2.12 inches of rain fell in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the largest single-day total in March since 1953.

Severe weather affected several states during the week. On March 12, there were 48 reports of hail, some of which were the size of golf balls near Kansas City, Missouri. On March 13, there were 123 storm reports total, including a report of a brief tornado just northwest of Avon, Illinois that caused some farmstead damage. The most damaging day was March 14, which had 449 storm reports from Texas to Pennsylvania, 36 of which were tornadoes. Two people were injured when an EF-2 tornado touched down in Jefferson County, Indiana with winds of 115 mph. There were 3 fatalities and 27 injuries when an EF-3 tornado was confirmed in Ohio’s Auglaize and Logan counties. Another 38 injuries were reported as a result of an EF-3 tornado with 165 mph winds just west of Selma, Indiana. In the St. Louis, Missouri area, there were reports of car damage due to 3-4 inch hail.

Since the heaviest rains came later in the week, they were not reflected in the drought monitor. Minor improvements were made in the abnormally dry, D0, category, specifically over western Ohio, Indiana and Michigan (Figure 7). However, moderate drought, D1, drought expanded from 37.7 percent of the region to 42.19 percent of the region, mainly due to expansions west of the Mississippi River in Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri. In Iowa, where extreme drought, D3, conditions have persisted for some time now, many waterways were at less than 10 percent of normal streamflow for March.