March Weather Facts

On March 1...

1983: A tornado producing F2 damage touched down in St. Louis City. It later strengthened and produced F3 damage in Illinois causing five million dollars in damage. That same day, two separate tornadoes affected the O'Fallon area causing over half a million dollars in damage.

2002: Five separate tornadoes struck at virutually the same time in Bond County. Luckily, no one was killed and there was only one resulting injury.

2007: A bow echo event moved through the northeastern part of Missouri spawning off 3 tornadoes and producing small hail and damaging straight-line winds. Of the 3 tornadoes 2 were EF1 and 1 was EF0. They occurred in Monroe County. Severe straight-line winds caused damage in Ralls County. More information can be found in our events archives.

On March 2...

2002: A winter storm struck central and northeast Missouri, crippling transportation across much off the area. About a 1/2 inch of sleet fell first, followed by 4 to 6 inches of snow. In addition, winds of 20 to 30 mph came with the snow causing poor visibility and drifting snow.

On March 3...

1958: A tornado touched down in St. Louis county. That same day, two separate tornadoes touched down in Madison county in Illinois.

On March 4...

2003: A mix of freezing rain and sleet started during the evening. About 1/4 inch of ice accumulated across the area before the precipitation changed to snow later that night. By the morning of the 5th, snowfall across the area ranged from 3 to 8 inches.

2008: A winter storm brings heavy snowfall along with ice further south in the morning hours. The St. Louis area received about 9 to 12 inches of snow with some local amounts greater than 12 inches. St. Charles County saw less than 3 inches. South and southwest of St. Louis there was more sleet and ice accumulation. The sleet accumulated to about half an inch and the ice accumulated to about a quarter of an inch. More information can be found in our events archives.

On March 5...

1960: The lowest temperatures on record at St. Louis (-5 degrees), Columbia (-9 degrees), and Quincy (-13 degrees) for the month of March were recorded.

1961: Two tornadoes, both causing F1 damage touched down in Moniteau county.

On March 6...

1992: Trained spotters in Columbia reported golf ball sized hail that damaged numerous cars.

On March 7...

1975: A severe thunderstorm produced a tornado causing F2 damage that tore through St. Louis county. Winds of up to 57 mph were also reported in St. Louis and Jefferson counties.

On March 8...

1999: A late season winter storm hit northeast Missouri dropping from 2 to 8 inches of snow across the area. The heaviest snow fell in the northeast corner of the state with Clark and Lewis counties picking up from 6 to 8 inches.

2009: A fast moving line of supercells moved through the area spawning 10 tornadoes in southwest Illinois. Hail and damaging winds were also a threat. Some of the wind damage caused power outages. More information can be found in our events archives.

On March 9...

1918: The 8th highest wind occurrence for St. Louis (74mph) is recorded.

1998: A late season snow storm dropped from 1 to 6 inches of snow across parts of Missouri. The heaviest snow fell from central into northeast Missouri where amounts averaged from 4 to 6 inches. Several deaths occurred in traffic accidents blamed on icy roads.

On March 10...

1876: F4 tornado kills 14 and injurs 40 in Monroe, Ralls, Marion and Adams counties in Missouri

On March 11...

2000: A late season winter storm dropped from 4 to 10 inches of snow across central and east central Missouri. Thunderstorms occurred with the snow causing very heavy snow witth near white-out conditions at times. By late afternoon of the next day, temperatures in the 50s had melted virtually all of the snow.

2006: As cold front moved through the area it brought severe thunderstorms. There was some flash flooding along local rivers and tornadoes. There was a total of 9 tornadoes. Three in the Festus, Mo area: 1 F0, 1 F1, and 1 F3. Four moved from Reynolds County, Mo into Perry County, IL: 2 F1, 1 F2, and 1 F3. There were two fatalities and 12 injuries in these counties. The last two were in Pike County, IL: 2 F0. More information can be found in our events archives.

On March 12...

1937: Between the 12th and 13th, 12.8 inches of snow fell at Columbia. This was the 6th greatest 24-hour snowfall total on record for this location.

2006: Severe weather moved through the entire state of Missouri as well as Kansas and Illinois. There were 49 confirmed tornadoes from cyclic supercells: 38 in Missouri with 7 fatalities. The main path was from southwest Missouri through central Missouri into central Illinois. More information can be found in our events archives.

On March 13...

1937: Between the 12th and 13th, 12.8 inches of snow fell at Columbia. This was the 6th greatest 24-hour snowfall total on record for this location.

1937: 11.6 inches of snow fell at Columbia.

2006: Severe weather moved through the entire state of Missouri as well as Kansas and Illinois. There were 49 confirmed tornadoes from cyclic supercells: 38 in Missouri with 7 fatalities. The main path was from southwest Missouri through central Missouri into central Illinois. More information can be found in our events archives.

On March 14...

1990: In Boone county, a severe storm produced 2 separte tornadoes and dropped 3 inches of rain.

On March 15...

1938: A tornado causing F4 damage killed 10 and injured 12 in St. Clair county. This tornado was part of an outbreak that produced 4 different tornadoes and was responsible for 11 deaths and 42 injuries.

On March 16...

1960: Two separate tornadoes both causing F1 damage affected areas of Randolph county IL.

On March 17...

1991: Winds gusting up to 60mph were reported by the Missouri Highway Patrol just outside of St. Louis.

1989: Hail measuring up to 2.0 inches in diameter fell in St. Louis City and St. Louis county.

2008: Several waves of low pressure moved along a stationary front bringing heavy rainfall and flooding to most of the county warning area, especially in southeast Missouri and southern Illinois. Rainfall totals amounted to 7.5 inches in southeast Missouri, 3 to 5 inches in the St. Louis Metro Area, and 1 to 2 inches in northeast Missouri and west central Illinois. More information can be found in our events archives.

On March 18...

1925: The tri-state tornado formed F2 damage in Reynolds, Iron and Madison counties in Missouri. It later strengthed causing F5 damage in southern Illinois. The tornado is responsible for 695 deaths and over 2000 injuries.

On March 19...

1948: 3 separate F4 tornadoes killed a total of 37 people and were responsible for 489 injuries in Washington and St. Francois counties in Missouri and Madison, Macoupin, and Montgommery counties in Illinois. These tornadoes were part of an outbreak that produced 7 different tornadoes and were responsible for a total of 37 deaths and 507 injuries.

On March 20...

1976: In Randolph county, hail measuring up to 4.0 inches in diameter was produced by a severe thunderstorm.

2006: An early spring snow storm affect a majority of the CWA. The greatest snowfall amounts were in the northeast Missouri and west central Illinois. Snowfall totals were between 6 to 9 inches. Just north of St. Louis received about 2 inches of snow. More information can be found in our events archives.

On March 21...

1907: The highest temperature on record at Columbia (92 degrees) and for Quincy (88 degrees) for the month of March is recorded.

1991: A thunderstorm with wind gusts of up to 60 mph affected areas of Pike county (including Bowling Green) in Missouri.

2006: An early spring snow storm affect a majority of the CWA. The greatest snowfall amounts were in the northeast Missouri and west central Illinois. Snowfall totals were between 6 to 9 inches. Just north of St. Louis received about 2 inches of snow. More information can be found in our events archives.

On March 22...

1957: A tornado touched down in St. Louis county.

On March 23...

1966: A severe thunderstorm produced two separate tornadoes that touched down in Callaway county in Missouri.

1978: A tornado produced F3 damage moved NE from 7 miles S of Quincy in Adams County, passing 1 miles S of "Mound Station," now called Timewell. Homes were "carried away". One person died, as did 50 head of livestock. A total of 6 people were injured.

On March 24...

1929: The highest temperature on record at St. Louis for the month of March (92 degrees) was recorded.

1912: 12.1inches of snow fell at St. Louis. This was the 8th greatest 24-hour snowfall total on record for this location.

2013: A strong winter storm moved through the area bringing thundersnow to a majority of the area. Heaviest amounts were in west central Illinois with snowfall totals up to 16 inches. Central Missouri and northeast Missouri saw about 6 to 9 inches of snow. St. Louis (KSTL) saw 12.4 inches. This storm made history making it the highest calender day March snowfall, the 2nd highest calender day snowfall ever, and the 6th greatest snowfall event for St. Louis. More information can be found in our events archives.

On March 25...

1920: The 7th highest wind occurrence for St. Louis (74mph) was recorded.

1954: 2 tornadoes touched down in St. Charles county. One produced F1 damage and the other F3 damage.

On March 26...

2002: Sleet began falling the evening of March 25th and accumulated up to 1 inch in many areas. The sleet changed to snow by the early morning hours of the 26th. Altogether from 3 to 4 inches of sleet/snow covered the ground. Highway 40/Interstate 64 in St. Louis had to be closed for a while due to the icy conditions as did the Martin Luther King Bridge on the Mississippi River.

On March 27...

1890: A tornado outbreak results in 5 tornadoes that produced damage ranging from F1 to F3. The outbreak is responsible for 6 deaths and 84 injuries in Ste. Genevieve county in Missouri and Randolph, St. Clair, and Washington counties in Illinois.

1991: In Columbia winds gusting in excess of 57 mph (which met warning criteria) lasted for most of the afternoon.