Even with the warmer temperatures this week, many parts of North Dakota will finish March with below average temperatures. The big exceptions will be southwestern and southeastern North Dakota.. The coldest readings with be in the north central part of the state where continued snow cover has kept the temperature there much colder than the… Read more March 2017 Temperatures
Month: March 2017
Bismarck Snow Season
Yesterday in this space I mentioned how relatively snow free it has been around Fargo Moorhead these past several winters. Although it was a snowy winter in Bismarck, a high percentage of that snow came during the first half of the winter. The second half the snow amounts have been much closer to the longer… Read more Bismarck Snow Season
Snowless
Fargo Moorhead has recorded only 1.6 inches of snow so far this month with no measurable snow foreseen this week, this will mean March 2017 will rank as the 20th least snowy March on record. It will also be the 4th March in a row at that location recording very little snow during the month of… Read more Snowless
March 23, 2017 Rain
Although the rainfall yesterday was generally near or less than 1/10th of an inch, there was a band of ½ inch rain from near Bismarck to near Grand Forks yesterday. This is the scenario we will have to watch carefully in the common weeks because although the moisture can’t be seen in many locations, the… Read more March 23, 2017 Rain
Vernal
The vernal equinox occurred on Monday, but because North Dakota and northern Minnesota is located north of 45° North latitude, it will be in the next 10 days when the shadows at solar noon will begin to be shorter than the objects projecting them. This impacts the amount of solar radiation received on the surface… Read more Vernal
Still Wet
With March to this point below average, the question I get frequently is what type of temperatures do you expect in April. For several months now I have projected March and April to finish below average for temperatures and looking forward, I think there will be more below average days than above average days for… Read more Still Wet
Up and Down
Most of northern North Dakota has recorded temperatures between 4 and 7 degrees below average so far this month. Southern North Dakota has been 2-4 degrees below average. So yes, it has been a cold month to this point even with the warm past couple of days. Today and tomorrow that cold will continue but… Read more Up and Down
Southwest Flow
The biggest storms in the northern plains tend to come in from a southwesterly direction. Storms making that track have more time to advect moisture from the Gulf of Mexico into the storm and in turn drop more precipitation. The storm on Monday, came from the southwest, but never ventured much farther south than Wyoming,… Read more Southwest Flow
Snow Differences
The colder air that is currently in place is as always, the most pronounced in the locations that recorded the most snow earlier this week. With temperatures remaining below freezing most of this week, if you’re in an area with snow cover, it will likely be sticking around for a while. The March sun is… Read more Snow Differences
Freezing Time
We have reached that time of year that the average maximum has reached 32 degrees or will this week reach 32 degrees depending on your location. Of course an average does not mean you will nor should you expect a temperature that warm as in our climate the averages are just the average of extremes. … Read more Freezing Time