March 2019 Climate and Hydrology Summary

Tulsa: March 2019 was the 32nd coldest (47.8°F; since 1905), the 46th wettest (3.80", tied 1929; since 1888), and the 28th snowiest (1.0", tied 1931, 1914; since 1900) March on record.

Tulsa: No daily records were set or tied this month.

Fort Smith: March 2019 was the 47th coldest (50.4°F, tied 1983; since 1883), the 63rd driest (2.86"; since 1883), and the 41st snowiest (Trace, tied 17 other years; since 1884) March on record.

Fort Smith: Daily records set or tied this month include a record cold minimum temperature and a record cold mean temperature.

Fayetteville: March 2019 was the 14th coldest (44.9°F, tied 1980; since 1950), the 28th wettest (4.32"; since 1950), and the 19th snowiest (0.8"; since 1950).

Fayetteville: Daily records set or tied this month include record cold minimum temperatures and a record daily snowfall.

McAlester: Daily records set or tied this month include a record cold minimum temperature, a record cold mean temperature.

Using the radar-derived estimated observed precipitation from the RFCs, rainfall totals for March 2019 ranged from 1” to around 5” across eastern OK and northwest AR, with the largest area of low rainfall occurring across Osage Co. These rainfall totals correspond to only 25% to 90% of the normal March rainfall for most of eastern OK and northwest AR. A few places across the region were near normal, and isolated areas in Tulsa, Rogers, Wagoner, Craig, and Ottawa Counties were around 125% for the normal March rainfall.

After a wet winter, the spring season started off with below normal rainfall and below normal temperatures across most of eastern OK and northwest AR. Heavy rain in KS resulted in flooding along the Neosho River near Commerce this month.

Minor flooding occurred along the Neosho River this month.

During the late evening hours of the 2nd, patchy rain and drizzle began to develop across northeast OK as a compact and potent shortwave moved out of the Sierras and into the Plains. As the shortwave moved into KS, a more widespread area of precipitation moved west to east across eastern OK and northwest AR during the early morning hours of the 3rd. At the same time, a surge of very cold Arctic air also moved into the region, causing a changeover to sleet and snow during the early morning hours of the 3rd primarily north of I-40. The precipitation quickly shifted east of the area shortly after sunrise. The highest snowfall accumulation of 0.5”-2” was across northeast OK, where the cold temperatures and precipitation overlapped the longest. Elsewhere, snowfall totals were a trace to around half an inch. Rainfall and liquid equivalent totals were around 0.25” or less.

Showers and thunderstorms developed over eastern OK near a warm front after midnight on the 9th and progressed eastward through the early morning hours. The rain moved east of the area by mid-morning as the main upper-level system swept through the region. Rainfall totals ranged from around 0.25” to 1.5” across a large portion of eastern OK and northwest AR, and isolated areas of 1.5”-2”.

A band of showers with embedded thunderstorms, associated with isentropic ascent, tracked northeast across eastern OK and northwest AR from midnight to sunrise on the 12th. While most of the region received a few hundredths to around one third of an inch of rain, heavier rain from around 0.50” to around 1” fell across Choctaw, Pushmataha, and southern Le Flore Counties in southeast OK. Scattered showers and thunderstorms continued across northeast OK and northwest AR, with more widespread activity across southeast KS, during the remainder of the morning. By late afternoon, a large area of showers and thunderstorms moving east out of north central OK/south central KS affected southeast KS and locations along the KS/OK state line through the evening hours. A squall line developed over west TX around midnight on the 13th, which then trekked east across OK, while weakening, during the overnight hours. This activity made it into eastern OK in the pre-dawn hours, and continued to move east across eastern OK and northwest AR through late afternoon. An anomalously deep surface cyclone lifted through western KS during the afternoon, resulting in strong southerly wind gusts of 35-50 mph. For the 24-hour period ending at 7 am CDT March 13, rainfall totals ranged from 0.25” to near 1.5” across portions of northeast OK, northwest AR, and southeast KS. An additional 0.10” to 1” of rain fell after 7 am. The higher rainfall totals across southeast KS resulted in flooding along the Neosho River upstream of Grand Lake.

A complex of showers and thunderstorms spread into eastern OK during the pre-dawn hours of the 23rd and continued eastward into northwest AR through the afternoon hours. While most of this first round of rain moved east of the area by mid-evening, additional isolated to scattered thunderstorms developed in central and eastern OK, in the vicinity of a dryline, through the evening. This activity also moved east into northwest AR just before midnight, and continued during the night as the low-level jet increased the isentropic lift over the region. These storms finally dissipated during the early morning hours of the 24th. Rainfall totals ranged from around 0.25” to around 2” across much of eastern OK and northwest AR.

A cold front moved across the region on the 24th, sparking thunderstorm development across southeast OK into northwest AR in the late afternoon. This activity continued through the evening hours before the cold front and associated storms moved east of the area by midnight. Large hail occurred with these storms, with several reports of golf ball (1.75”) sized hail. There were a few reports of 2” hail stones, but the largest hail was baseball size (2.75”) reported in Howe, OK and 5 miles south southeast of Poteau, OK (both in Le Flore Co.). Rainfall totals were 0.10” to 1.5”.

A line of showers and thunderstorms developed along I-35 near a stationary front just before sunrise on the 29th, and moved east across northeast OK through the morning hours. This activity reached northwest AR by noon, and moved east out of the area a few hours later. The front then moved across eastern OK and northwest AR generating a broken line of light showers during the evening. A little after midnight on the 30th, another area of showers and thunderstorms developed over northwest OK, behind the front, as an upper-level wave moved into the region. These storms moved quickly into eastern OK and northwest AR during the early morning hours, and were east of the area by mid-morning. Rainfall totals from the two rounds of storms ranged from around 0.10” to around 1.5” of rain.

According to the Drought Monitor from March 26, 2019, no drought or abnormally dry conditions were present across eastern OK and northwest AR.

According to the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, March 2019 was the 48th wettest for northeast Oklahoma, the 49th driest for east central Oklahoma, and the 32nd driest for southeast Oklahoma. Records go back to 1921. For the Year-to-Date period Jan. 1-Mar. 31, 2019, northeast Oklahoma ranked as the 22nd wettest, east central Oklahoma was the 21st wettest, and southeast Oklahoma was the 46th driest period.