March Climate Outlook for Caribou

                                                         ...A STATISTICAL PREVIEW OF CARIBOU'S MARCH WEATHER...

DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH THE AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE CLIMBS FROM 29 DEGREES ON THE1^ST TO 40 BY THE END OF THE MONTH.  THE AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE WHICH DROPPED TO FREEZING IN LATE NOVEMBER FINALLY CLIMBS BACK ABOVE FREEZING ON MARCH 13^TH.  THE AVERAGE LOW TEMPERATURE RISES FROM 9 ABOVE ZERO ON THE 1^ST TO 22 BY THE END OF THE MONTH.

THE WARMEST TEMPERATURE EVER OBSERVED DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH WAS 75 DEGREES ON MARCH 21, 2012.  THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE EVER OBSERVED IN MARCH WAS 28 BELOW ON MARCH 2, 2001. 

AN AVERAGE OF 18.3 INCHES OF SNOW FALLS DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH.  OVER THE YEARS MARCH SNOWFALL HAS RANGED FROM ONLY 1.4 INCHES IN 2006 TO 47.1 INCHES IN 1955.  THE GREATEST CALENDAR DAY SNOWFALL EVER OBSERVED OCCURRED IN THE MONTH OF MARCH WHEN 28.6 INCHES OF SNOW WAS OBSERVED ON MARCH 14, 1984.  THERE HAVE BEEN 3 TIMES SINCE THE WINTER OF 1939-1940 DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH WHEN THE MONTHLY SNOWFALL EXCEEDED 40 INCHES.

ON AVERAGE THERE ARE 5 DAYS IN MARCH WITH A SNOWFALL OF 1 INCH OF MORE, 2 DAYS WITH A SNOWFALL OF 3 INCHES OF MORE, AND 1 DAY WITH A SNOWFALL OF 6 INCHES OR GREATER.  THE GREATEST CALENDAR DAY SNOWFALL OF 20.8 INCHES WAS OBSERVED ON FEBRUARY 2, 2003.

IN ALMOST ALL YEARS THERE IS A CONTINUOUS SNOW PACK DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH.  THE WINTER SNOW PACK TYPICALLY REACHES ITS GREATEST DEPTH AT THE END OF FEBRUARY AND BEGINS TO DIMINISH DURING THE 2^ND HALF OF MARCH.  THE AVERAGE SNOW DEPTH IS 18 INCHES AT THE START OF THE MONTH AND 9 INCHES AT THE END OF THE MONTH.  IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT NEARBY WOODED AREAS HAVE A SNOW PACK THAT CAN EASILY BE TWICE WHAT IS OBSERVED AT THE AIRPORT WHERE MUCH OF THE SNOW TENDS TO BLOW AWAY. THE GREATEST SNOW DEPTH EVER OBSERVED DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH WAS 51 INCHES ON MARCH 6, 1977.

MARCH: CARIBOU’S TOP 5 WARMEST (AVERAGE TEMPERATURES):

32.3  DEGREES 1977

31.9 2010

31.8 1958

31.8 1979

31.5 2012

MARCH: CARIBOU’S TOP 5 COLDEST (AVERAGE TEMPERATURES):

15.1 DEGREES 2014

15.3 1939

17.4 IN 1967

17.5 1943

17.9 1948

MARCH: CARIBOU’S TOP 5 WETTEST

5.27 INCHES 2008

5.13 1953

4.90 2005

4.72 1972

4.71 1991

MARCH: CARIBOU’S TOP SNOWIEST:

47.1 INCHES 1955

45.2 2008

42.1 2014

41.4 1972

39.7 1961

MARCH: CARIBOU’S TOP 5 DRIEST

0.66 INCHES 1965

0.70 1962 

0.80 2006

1.07 1967

1.11 1952

1.16 1990

…MARCH STATISTICS…

….TEMPERATURES (1981-2010 NORMALS)

AVERAGE HIGH……………………….....................................33.9

AVERAGE LOW………...........................................................15.2

MONTHLY AVERAGE…………………………………………..24.5

AVERAGE # OF DAYS W/HIGHS <32F……………………...12 (11.6)

AVERAGE # OF DAYS W/LOWS < 32F……………………..29 (29.3)

AVERAGE # OF DAYS W/LOWS <10F……………………...10

AVERAGE # OF DAYS W/LOWS <0F……..………………...4

…PRECIPITATION…

MONTHLY AVERAGE………………………………………….....2.51 INCHES

AVERAGE DAYS WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION…..13 (12.6)

LARGEST 24 HOUR RAINFALL……………………..…………..2.42 INCHES, 2011

AVERAGE SNOWFALL…………………………………………..18.3 INCHES

MOST SNOWFALL………………………………………………..47.1 INCHES, 1955

LEAST SNOWFALL……………………………………………….1.4 INCHES, 2006

AVERAGE # OF DAYS W/SNOWFALL > 1 INCH………….….5 (4.5)

AVERAGE # OF DAYS W/SNOWFALL > 3 INCHES…………2

AVERAGE # OF DAYS W/SNOWFALL > 6 INCHES…………1

…MISCELLANEOUS MARCH AVERAGES…

NORMAL HEATING DEGREE DAYS………………………..…1254

NORMAL COOLING DEGREE DAYS……………………….…0

MEAN WIND SPEED……………………………………………..9.2 MPH

AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS W/DENSE FOG…………..…3

MEAN NUMBER OF CLOUDY DAYS………………………….17

…SUNRISE AND SUNSET…

MARCH 1^ST………………………………………………..……….6:12 AM/5:18 PM

MARCH 31^ST  .…………………………………………….……….6:13 AM/7:00 PM

GAIN OF DAYLIGHT……………………………………….……..1 HOUR & 41 MINUTES

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME BEGINS……………………..…….SUNDAY, MARCH 8th 

The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for March indicated that there are no strong climate signals that would point toward an unusually cold or mild month.  There are no strong climate signals that would point toward an unusually wet (snowy) or dry month.