Monthly Overview - March 2021

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Some Wetter Weather

Wetter weather was common across the Midwest in March (Figure 1). Regionwide precipitation for the month was 3.11 inches, which was 0.59 inches above normal, or about 24 percent above normal. Wetter than normal conditions were mainly concentrated in Missouri and the Ohio River Valley, along with areas of eastern Minnesota and the northern Great Lakes (Figure 2). Some areas of western Missouri and southern Kentucky received more than twice the normal amount in March (Figure 3). Downpours were frequent from stronger storms, leading to more than 400 daily precipitaiton records being recorded in March (Figure 4). Meanwhile, conditions were quite dry in northwestern Minnesota and Lower Michigan, with many areas receiving less than half the normal amount.
 

Temperature

Warm temperatures dominated throughout March in the Midwest (Figure 5). Regional temperature was 42.0°F which was 5.3°F above normal. This ranked as the 10th warmest March on record for the region (1895-2021). Abnormally warm temperatures were widespread throughout the month before the first significantly cooler than normal period began on March 30-31 (Figure 6). The period with the most significant warmth was during the first half of the month (Figure 7), with most of the Upper Midwest extremely warm from March 7-14 (Figure 8). More than 700 daily high maximum and minimum temperature records were broken across the Midwest in March (Figure 9), with more than 600 from March 7-14 (Figure 10).
 

Low Snowfall

Abnormally warm temperatures led to very low snowfall totals for March (Figure 11). Outside the Upper Midwest, only a few areas had any snowfall, with the most falling in southwestern Missouri. Northern Iowa and Minnesota received the most snow in non-lake-effect areas. The only areas that had above-normal snowfall were a small portion of northeastern Iowa and the Arrowhead of Minnesota (Figure 12). More than 150 stations in the Ohio River Valley and southern Midwest tied minimum snowfall records for the month by recording no snowfall.
 

Upper Midwest Drought Expands

Abnormally dry conditions and drought expanded slightly in March across the Midwest (Figure 13). Most of this expansion occurred in Michigan, northern Ohio and southern Wisconsin. Moderate drought was introduced in southern Lower Michigan and portions of northern Ohio as well. Meanwhile, wetter conditions in Iowa led to a reduction of drought, including small reductions in long-term severe and extreme drought in northwestern Iowa. Moderate drought was also eliminated in Illinois and most of Indiana.
 

Lower Amounts of Severe Weather

Severe weather was limited during March, with less than 150 reports of severe winds, hail and tornadoes. Most of these reports were in the southern half of the region and occurred mostly on March 17 (Figure 14), March 25 (Figure 15) and March 27 (Figure 16). Some highlights included EF-0 and EF-1 tornadoes in central Kentucky on March 25 and an EF-1 tornado in southern Illinois on March 27. Several weak tornadoes also touched down in Missouri on March 17 along with hail as large as 2 inches in diameter. Overall, the total number of reports in March 2021 was less than half the number of reports in March 2020.
 

-BJP-