NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY

MARCH 2005


1st-5th…Snow fell Wednesday in parts of the Midwest and California,
while rain raked southern Texas. Snow showers fell from the Great
Lakes into lower Michigan, northern Ohio, and western portions of
Pennsylvania and New York. Accumulations ranged from 3 to 7 inches
within the heaviest bands of snow. A large dome of high pressure meant
dry and chilly conditions for the Southeast, Tennessee River Valley,
Gulf Coast and Ohio Valley. Scattered rain pushed into Mississippi. In
the nation's midsection, skies were mostly fair. But clouds covered
Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. Rain spread across
southeastern Texas. A strong line of thunderstorms produced dime-size
hail, lightning and gusting wind in some areas. More than an inch of
rain was reported in Georgetown, Texas, just north of Austin. In the
West, rain showers and mountain snow fell on parts of central and
northern California and western Nevada. High pressure dominated the
other western states, bringing dry and mild conditions.
Snow or rain was widely scattered around the nation Friday, with parts
of the Midwest and California reporting some of both. A mix of snow
and freezing rain spread across the Ohio Valley, Appalachians and
Tennessee Valley, while snow blew into northern New York, leaving 3
1/2 inches in some spots. Rain showers and thunderstorms popped up
across southern Florida, with Miami reporting more than half an inch.
It was clear and dry in the Mid-Atlantic, New England and the
Southeast. Scattered rain and thunderstorms pushed across the Texas
Panhandle into southern Oklahoma and northern Texas. Light snow
showers were scattered across the upper Mississippi Valley. Green Bay,
WI, reported nearly an inch of fresh snow. A large dome of high
pressure brought partly cloudy skies and mild conditions to the
Plains. Either rain or mountain snow fell on much of California. Santa
Barbara, on the southern coast, reported more than half an inch of
rain, while inland Visalia got more than three quarters of an inch.
Elsewhere in the West, partly cloudy skies and dry conditions
prevailed in the Rockies, Great Basin, Pacific Northwest and Desert
Southwest.

6th-12th…In the East, a strong area of low pressure, and associated
cold front, pushed through the region on Monday, producing wide-spread
rain showers and strong to severe thunderstorms. Rain showers spread
from the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, northward into the Northeast and
Mid-Atlantic late in the day. There were a few isolated thunderstorms
embedded within the showers; however, no severe weather as been
reported with this activity. Rainfall amounts thus far remain under a
quarter of an inch. Moving to the Southeast and Florida, scattered
rain showers and strong to severe thunderstorms developed during the
evening hours. The main threat with these storms has been frequent
lightning, winds gusting to 50 miles-per-hour, large hail, and heavy
downpours. In fact, Jackson, Mississippi received 0.87 inches of rain,
and reported a wind gust of 50 mph. There have also been quite a few
severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings issued as well. High
temperatures reached into the upper 40s and 50s in the Northeast, the
Great Lakes, and the Ohio Valley; and into the 60s and 70s in the
Tennessee Valley, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Southeast; and into the
upper 70s and lower 80s in southern Florida. In the central part of
the country, a cold front pushing through the southern Plains and Gulf
Coast regions, brought scattered rain showers and strong to severe
thunderstorms to the area earlier in the day. The main concern with
the storms was frequent lightning, gusty winds, large hail, and heavy
rainfall. Nickel to penny size hail fell in many locations across
Texas. However, the place to be for hail was in San Antonio, Texas as
walnut size hail accumulated to 3 or 4 inches deep in spots. A house
was even struck by lightning in Pasadena, Texas. Heavy rainfall also
created many flooding problems in Louisiana and eastern Texas as well.
Elsewhere, an upper-level trough made for another day of gusty winds
through the northern and central Plains. Winds were sustained at 15 to
25 mph, gusting to 40 mph at times. A few rain showers also developed
due to the upper-level trough in the central Plains, but rainfall
amounts remained under a quarter of an inch. High temperatures reached
into the upper 20s and 30s in the northern Plains; into the 40s across
the Upper Mississippi Valley; into the 50s in the central Plains; into
the 60s and 70s for much of the southern Plains; and into the upper
70s and 80s in southern Texas. In the West, some cloudy skies and
light snow flurries occurred across the northern high Plains and the
northern Rocky Mountains off and on through the day. Any snowfall
accumulations were minimal at best. Elsewhere, a dominant region of
high pressure provided partly cloudy skies and fair conditions for the
Pacific Northwest, the Great Basin, California, the Desert Southwest,
and southern high Plains. However, conditions were blustery at times
in Wyoming and northern Colorado with winds gusting to near 50 mph.
Warm temperatures were experienced through the Pacific Northwest as a
few locations broke high temperature records.
A strong low pressure system and cold front spread locally heavy rain,
thunderstorms, freezing rain and blowing snow across the East on
Tuesday. Rain fell along the Eastern Seaboard from Florida and Georgia
into parts of New England during the morning and early afternoon.
Thunderstorms hammered North Carolina with 70 mph wind gusts, damaging
buildings and knocking out power to thousands of customers. Hail as
big as golf balls was reported at New Hope, NC,
In colder air along the western side of the band of precipitation,
snow fell during the morning along the Appalachians, from eastern
Tennessee and western North Carolina to New York state, and by late
afternoon the snow had pushed eastward to the coast. A day after
temperatures in the 60s, New Jersey had afternoon readings in the 20s
on Tuesday and rain had changed to blowing snow.
Accumulations of 2 inches or more were possible in the state. Farther
west, snow flurries were scattered across parts of Illinois, Michigan,
Indiana and Ohio.
Elsewhere, isolated snow flurries were scattered over the Plains, from
Montana and North Dakota through parts of Wyoming, eastern Colorado,
South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas.
Rain dampened much of the South on Wednesday while unseasonable
temperatures and blustery winds dominated in the Northeast. The West
stayed mostly clear and dry.
Scattered lake-effect snow was reported on the eastern shores of Lake
Michigan, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, with up to 3 inches of
accumulation. In the rest of the Northeast, winds gusted to 60 mph,
with wind chill readings near 15 below zero in parts of New England.
Scattered light rain developed over the Tennessee Valley and much of
the South; Fort Myers, FL, reported nearly 1 1/2 inches by midday. A
few rain showers and thunderstorms lingered over eastern Arkansas and
Louisiana, while the Midwest and upper Mississippi River basin were
dry. In the West, partly cloudy to mostly clear skies prevailed,
though haze and fog were reported in California. A few rain showers
moistened the Pacific Northwest.
Scattered snow fell across parts of the Midwest and along the East
Coast on Friday, while clear skies prevailed over much of the nation's
midsection and the West. Snow was reported in the Great Lakes, Ohio
Valley and parts of the Northeast, but accumulations were
insignificant. Snow also fell across portions of the Appalachians and
eastern Pennsylvania. A mix of light rain and snow fell in parts of
the Tennessee Valley, southern Mid-Atlantic and the Southeast. The
central and western portions of the nation experienced mainly clear
conditions under a broad dome of high pressure. Some snow fell in the
upper Mississippi Valley region and northern Plains but totals
remained below half an inch.
The central and southern Plains, as well as the lower Mississippi
Valley
and much of the West saw spring-like conditions with sunny skies and
warm, dry conditions.

13th-19th…A slow-moving storm dropped as much as 3 feet of snow on the
mountains
of New Mexico on Tuesday, and rain fell across parts of the southern
Plains and the South. Low pressure system sitting over the southern
Rockies produced the heavy, wet snow in New Mexico. The heaviest
snowfall was in the north-central part of the state, with 34 inches at
Mineral Hill, a small community about 15 miles west of Las Vegas, the
National Weather Service said. The snow closed highways, schools and
some state government offices in the area. Snow also extended eastward
across much of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, along with parts of
southeastern Colorado and southern Kansas. Texline, Texas, measured
around a foot of snow by midday. Rain was scattered from southern New
Mexico across other sections of Texas and Oklahoma, plus Louisiana,
Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Georgia.
Occasional thunderstorms formed in southern Louisiana. Snow fell on
parts of southern Missouri and Tennessee. Across the northern tier of
states, isolated snow showers were scattered from the northern Rockies
in Idaho and western Montana across the Plains into the Dakotas.
Occasional snow showers formed around the upper Great Lakes in
northeastern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Elsewhere, radar
showed light snow falling across Maine during the early morning.
Rain spread across wide areas of the Southeast, Texas and the lower
Mississippi Valley on Wednesday, while much of the rest of the nation
enjoyed quiet conditions. Heavy showers continued in the Southeast.
Amounts included 3 1/2 inches in Apalachicola, FL; 2 1/2 inches in
Valdosta, GA; 2 inches in Tallahassee, FL, and Savannah, GA; and 1
inch in Mobile, AL. Light snow fell across portions of the southern
Appalachians. High pressure brought fair to partly cloudy skies to the
Northeast, Ohio Valley, Great Lakes and northern Mississippi Valley.
Snow showers dusted western New York, southern Maine and New
Hampshire. In the nation's midsection, scattered rain showers spread
across eastern parts of Oklahoma and Texas into the Lower Mississippi
Valley. New
Orleans got nearly an inch of rain. The other central states were cool
and dry.
Rain fell in coastal Washington and Oregon. Most of the rest of the
West had fair skies and quiet conditions.
A storm dumped more than a foot of snow on parts of Minnesota,
Wisconsin and South Dakota on Friday, prompting dozens of schools to
start late or close only days before the official start of spring.
Sioux Falls, SD, area saw 9 inches of snow piling up before noon, and
14 inches were reported in Albert Lea, MN. Authorities in Minnesota's
Mower County reported numerous cars in ditches, and even tow trucks
were getting stuck in the snow. Parts of Michigan saw as much as 3
inches of snow, and a few lingering rain showers brought light drizzle
and small precipitation totals to the coast of North Carolina and
southern Florida. Gusty wind accompanied the low pressure system as it
pushed up from the central Plains, with sustained wind of up to 40 mph
throughout much of the area.
Partly cloudy skies and dry conditions dominated the rest of the
Northeast, Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic, Tennessee Valley and Southeast
under the influence of high pressure.

20th-26th…Heavy rain fell in the Plains and eastern Texas on Monday,
while showers dampened northern California and the Pacific Northwest.
The central Plains were hard hit, with more than an inch of rain
reported in many spots by early afternoon. Thunderstorms broke out in
the southeastern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley. The northern
Plains had a mix of rain and snow showers. Watches or warnings for
severe thunderstorms were issued for parts of eastern Texas; Whitney,
Texas, reported 3/4-inch hail. More than an inch of rain fell in Fort
Hood, Texas; Wichita, KS; and Lexington, NE. McAlester, Okla.,
received nearly 1 1/2 inches.

In the eastern third of the nation, skies were partly cloudy in most
areas, though light rain and snow showers continued along the New
England coast. Rain showers were scattered across the Southeast. In
the West, isolated rain and snow showers developed across the Rockies
and the Great Basin. Low pressure off the Pacific Coast brought
additional rain and mountain snow showers to northern California and
the Pacific Northwest. The rest of the West was dry with some sun.
Waves of showers and thunderstorms spread locally heavy rain across
parts of the East on Wednesday, and snow was scattered over the West.
A strong low pressure system powered the stormy weather in the East,
carrying rain across the Southeast, the Ohio Valley and along the
southern and central Appalachians and much of the East Coast. Heaviest
rainfall by midday included 2.11 inches at Baltimore; 1.95 at
Georgetown, DE; 1.45 at both Martinsburg, WV, and Wildwood, NJ, and
1.11 at York, PA. A broad band of thunderstorms and showers also
soaked large areas of Florida. In colder air to the north, the rain
turned to snow showers from Iowa across the Great Lakes into northern
Pennsylvania and New York state. Radar showed snow extending into
southern sections of New England by late afternoon and moving
northward. Isolated areas of precipitation were scattered across much
of the West. Mostly light rain showers formed in parts of California,
Oregon and Washington, as well as areas of Arizona, Nevada, New
Mexico, Utah and Colorado. Snow fell at some higher elevations of
California's Sierra Nevada, northern Arizona, northern Nevada, Utah,
Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. Isolated snow showers also
developed across the Plains of eastern
Montana, eastern Colorado, the Dakotas and western Nebraska.
A powerful storm system battered parts of Georgia and Florida on
Friday, while light snow moved across the Ohio Valley and the center
of the nation enjoyed some calm. Heavy rain and severe thunderstorms
hit southern Georgia and northern
Florida. Several towns reported hail up to 1 3/4 inches in diameter,
and roof damage was reported in Middleburg, FL. Heavier rain amounts
in the region included nearly 2 inches in Panama City, FL., and more
than an inch in Valdosta and Savannah, GA, and Tallahassee and
Gainesville, FL. Another storm system moved out of the Midwest and
through the Ohio Valley, bringing light snow to southern Michigan and
northern portions of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
In the nation's midsection, clear to partly cloudy skies were the
rule, except for some scattered snow or rain in Iowa and Nebraska.
Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico had a mix of cloudy skies
and rain showers. Light snow fell in parts of Nevada, Utah and
Colorado.

27th-31st…Thunderstorms and rain covered large portions of the East on
Monday, while rain and mountain snow lingered in the West. The
Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Tennessee Valley were hit by thunderstorms
and scattered rain. Severe storms diminished across parts of Virginia
and North Carolina. Jacksonville, NC, reported the heaviest rainfall
at 1.91 inches. Several regional storms also produced golf ball-sized
hail and damaging winds. In the West, the northern coast and the
interior mountain region experienced scattered rain showers and
mountain snow. At high elevations, there were reports of up to 8
inches of snow accumulation. The South and Gulf Coast saw a few
sprinkles, but amounts were small. Most of the rest of the nation had
clear skies and dry conditions.
Warm temperatures and sunny skies prevailed Wednesday in much of the
nation, with thunderstorms in the nation's midsection and scattered
rain in the West.
Mild conditions dominated the Appalachians, mid-Atlantic, Northeast,
Ohio Valley, eastern Tennessee Valley and eastern Great Lakes, with a
few clouds elsewhere in those areas. Thunderstorms, including hail,
hit parts of Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin. Strong, gusty
wind was reported in the Missouri Valley and upper Mississippi River
Valley, and in much of the Plains.

In the West, snow showers were scattered in the mountains of western
Colorado, northern Utah and central Wyoming. Scattered rain fell along
the coast of Washington and northwestern Oregon. Skies were partly
cloudy and conditions dry elsewhere in the region.
Rain showers developed over Kansas and Oklahoma, parts of the South
and the upper Great Lakes on Thursday, while rain and snow was
reported over parts of Colorado and New Mexico. It was dry in most of
the rest of the nation. A cold front slowly pushed east through the
South, and through the Ohio and Tennessee river valleys, triggering
showers and thunderstorms. Heavy rain produced flash flooding or river
flooding in Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas and Florida Panhandle;
Alabaster, AL, reported nearly 3 inches of rain by midday. A few light
rain showers were reported across the Appalachians and eastern Ohio
Valley, while it was partly cloudy and dry over much of the Great
Lakes and Northeast. Scattered light rain also prevailed in Kansas and
northern Oklahoma, and in northern Wisconsin and Michigan. The rest of
the Plains and through the Mississippi and Missouri river valleys was
dry. In the West, it was mostly clear and dry except for rain and snow
in parts of Colorado and New Mexico; snowfall totals ranged from 4-8
inches, although a few higher elevations reported up to a foot of
snow.