March 1-7, 2006
Midwest Weekly Highlights - March 1-7, 2006
The first week of March rolled in with temperatures and precipitation fairly close to the long-term climatic averages. The average daily temperature depatures across the Midwest illustrate that much of the region was close to normal for this time of year (Figure 1). Average daily mean temperatures for the first week of March ranged from near normal to 2°F above normal in southern Kentucky to 6-8°F above normal across western Missouri. Anomalously colder than normal temperatures were found across much of Michigan and Ohio, were departures ranged from 2 to 6°F below normal. The remainder of the Midwest saw average daily temperature departures between -2°F and +4°F of normal.
Precipitation for the
week was generally light and sporadic, with some locations receiving
near normal amounts of precipitation, while others remained totally
dry. This week, Wisconsin, Minnesota,
Iowa, and the upper peninsula
of Michigan
experienced precipitation
surpluses ranging from 150 to 400% above normal, while much of Ohio,
Indiana, Missouri, portions of Illinois, and
eastern Kentucky saw generally less than 50% of the normal
precipitation (Figure 2). Despite the welcome precipitation across portions of the
Midwest
this week, large long-term precipitation deficits remain (Figure 3, Climate Prediction Center), and drought became the biggest story of the first week of March.
An area of moderate drought (D2) was expanded
across western Illinois and southeastern Iowa in response to slowing
streamflow rates (Figure 4, United States Geological Survey), while the remaining portions of eastern
Missouri and Illinois saw their drought status worsen with the
expansion of the abnormally dry and moderate drought status (D0 and D1
respectively) (Figure 5).
The dry weather resulted in increased fire danger, especially in
southern Missouri and southwest Illinois. Several "red flag
warnings" have been issued by the National Weather Service Offices in
Springfield, MO and St. Louis, MO this year, indicating that conditions
are favorable for fire to spread rapidly. Numerouis brush fires,
often fueled by strong winds, are occurring around the St. Louis, MO
area and in southwestern Illinois, which is taxing the local fire
departments. Estimates from this part of the Midwest indicate
that some counties are experiencing grass/brush-fire counts greater
than 100 since January 1, which is already 140% of the normal number of
fires typically seen in a twelve-month period!
Old Man Winter Battles with Spring
On March 1-2, a storm system dropping southeastward out of Canada brought heavy snow to parts of northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the upper peninsula of Michigan. Winter storm warnings were posted for the region, which is still experiencing less snow than average for the snow season. When all was said and done, locations around the Duluth, MN area received 3-5 inches of snow, with lesser amounts to the south and north (Figure 6).The same storm system brought a period of freezing rain to portions of northern Indiana and central Michigan (Figure 7). The freezing rain resulted in numerous car accidents in and around the Detroit, MI metropolitan area. In an attempt to curb possible accidents that would be caused by the freezing rain, authorities in Detroit closed the eastbound ramp to I-96, including the express lanes, for a period of ten hours. In Grand Rapids, MI, two deaths were attributed to the freezing rain, just east of Rockford, MI, where a driver lost control of her car and skidded into the center lane of oncoming traffic. Further north, around the Gaylord, MI area, bursts of heavy snow, sometimes reducing visibilities to less than a quarter-mile, resulted in a narrow band of accumulations greater than 6 inches (Figure 8, National Weather Service Grand Rapids, MI).
While the upper Midwest was being pounded by old man winter, the southern portions of the Midwest experienced remarkably warm temperatures on the first day of March (Figure 9) as a secondary area of low pressure scooted along the I-70 corridor in MO, IL, and IN.. Record high temperatures were broken at several locations, including Bowling Green, KY, 76°F (tie, 1976), Paducah, KY, 77°F (73°F, 1976), Evansville, IN, 74°F (73°F, 1976), Columbia, MO 77°F (tie 1992), Springfield, MO 83°F (77°F, 1976), Joplin, MO 87°F (77°F, 1976), Vichy, MO 79°F (74°F, 1972), and West Plains, MO 77°F (tie 1992).Roller Coaster Temperatures and Precipitation...Typical March Weather
In the wake of the record heat that spread across portions of the Midwest early in the week, temperatures that were closer to normal prevailed thereafter, with a few shots of cold and sometimes snowy weather. The first weekend in March produced a variety of winter weather across the Midwest, as an area of low pressure moved out of Kansas and into the Midwest, while colliding with pre-exisitng cold air left behind from an area of departing high pressure (Figure 10). Heavy snow fell once again across portions of northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin, while a mixture of rain, sleet, snow, freezing rain, and rain doused parts of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Indiana on March 5-6. Despite the late season winter weather, no major problems were reported. Across the Chicago area and its western suburbs, snow amounts around 5" were reported, with a general range of 1-3" (Figure 11). The swath of snow extended westward into Iowa, where several locales also received snow amounts between 2 and 4 inches. The snow cover map for March 6 shows where the deepest snow pack is still currently located (Figure 12). Finally, on March 7, numerous thunderstorms broke out across western Iowa (Figure 13) and translated eastward during the day and into the overnight hours. Some thunderstorms became severe with large hail (some hailstones reached 1.50"!) across Iowa and Missouri, and light to moderate rain fell across Missouri, southern Iowa, and Illinois in response to developing low pressure out west (Figure 14).The long-range forecast for the second week of March is for wetter and generally warmer conditions across the Midwest. Will the drought areas receive the needed precipitation? Find out in next week's edition of the Midwest Climate Watch.
Kruk