A wet month well above normal

John McGinley, Peak to Peak. One major snow and a couple of moderate events pushed our snow and liquid water amounts to well above normal levels. Total snow for the month was 39.4 inches at my house in Big Springs, melting out to a whopping 3 inches of liquid. Despite these totals they were not extreme. Recall that March 2003 had 88 inches of snow and nearly 9 inches of liquid. As is typical for March, the snow was quite dense with a 12:1 ratio (snow to water). Snow cover was persistent all month, hanging in there at a 10-inch average (I am on a north-facing slope). As might be expected, the stormy conditions brought cooler temperatures, about a degree below normal. The storms also decreased windy days by shutting down the frequency of downslope winds.

Precipitation: Snow for the month was 39.4 inches, well above the normal 28 inches. This melted out to 3.06 inches, again, above the normal of 1.8 inches. A classic upslope event on the 13th brought 20 inches of snow. The second-best event was 11 inches on the 2nd and 3rd.

Temperature: Average high was 40.7F with a low of 19.6F. These combined to make the month about a degree below normal. The warmest day was 60F on the 27th. The coldest days were -4F on the 3rd and 4th. The coldest high was 15F on the 3rd.

Winds: Winds finally abated somewhat with only 7 windy (40+mph) days and one day over 60 mph. Normals are 10 and 2 respectively.

Other features: Strong upper level lows were the story for the first half of the month with drying and warming the latter half.

Outlook for April: April is our wettest month with 2.80 inches of liquid and 30 inches of snow. Average high is 49F with a low of 25F. Five days are windy. Long range models are indicating a cool and wet April for the first two weeks. Storms are expected on the 11-12th and 18-19th. The last part of the month will see a warm up and drying.

(Originally published in the April 11, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)