NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY

MARCH 2025

2-8: Weekly temperatures averaged at least 5°F above normal in much of Texas and from Montana into the upper Midwest. A late-week heat surge pushed temperatures above 100°F in Deep South Texas. Conversely, weekly readings averaged as much as 5°F below normal in scattered locations from southern California into Arizona, and from the southern Appalachians to the southern Atlantic Coast. Sub-0°F temperatures were mostly limited to traditionally colder locations in the West, as well as areas near the Canadian border around Lake Superior and across northern sections of New York and New England. In early March, warmth engulfed the Intermountain West. Record-setting highs for March 2 included 67°F in Salt Lake City, UT, and 62°F in Pocatello, ID. Meanwhile, frigid weather lingered across the Northeast, where Saranac Lake, NY, reported a maximum temperature of 8°F on March 2, followed by a low of -24°F (not a record for the date) the next morning. Soon, warmth arrived across the western Gulf Coast region, where daily-record highs in Texas for March 4 reached 83°F in Palacios and 80°F in Galveston. As a cold front surged eastward, a warm, windy, stormy day along the Atlantic Coast led to record-setting highs for March 6 in locations such as Islip, NY (60°F), and Bridgeport, CT (59°F). Late in the week, heat spiked across southern Texas, were Corpus Christi, achieved a daily-record high of 94°F on March 7. In Deep South Texas, daily-record highs for March 8 soared to 103°F in McAllen, 101°F in Brownsville, and 100°F in Harlingen. For Brownsville, that marked only the sixth observance of a triple-digit reading during March, and the third highest March temperature on record, tied with 101°F on March 27, 2009. Hotter March days in Brownsville occurred only on March 27, 1984, with a high of 106°F, and March 26, 1928, with 102°F. Brownsville’s only earlier observance of a triple-digit reading occurred on March 4, 1983, with a high of 100°F.

9-15: Large sections of the Plains experienced a dry week, accompanied at times by record-setting warmth and high winds.

bleak, due to consistently warm, dry weather to this point in the winter wet season.

Weekly temperatures averaged at least 5°F below normal in parts of central and southern California, the southern Great Basin, and the Southwest. Conversely, readings averaged 10 to 20°F above normal across the Midwest and portions of neighboring regions, including the Plains, Northeast, and mid-South. With warmth dominating areas east of the Rockies, temperatures soared to 80°F or higher as far north as Illinois and parts of Iowa. In La Crosse, WI, a high of 80°F on March 14 marked the second-earliest reading of 80°F or higher in that location, behind only 82°F on March 7, 2000. Earlier, the week had begun with record-setting warmth developing across the northern Plains and upper Midwest. On March 9-10, the week began with consecutive daily-record highs in locations such as Aberdeen, SD (69 and 74°F), and Green Bay, WI (60 and 65°F). Elsewhere on the 10th, daily-record highs topped the 80 degree mark in Russell, KS (85°F), and Lincoln, NE (84°F). In Iowa, record-setting highs for March 10 climbed to 79°F in Des Moines and Waterloo. Early-week warmth also prevailed across southern Florida, where Miami posted daily record-tying highs (88 and 89°F, respectively) on March 9 and 10. Later, record-setting warmth swept into the Ohio Valley and parts of the Northeast. March 11 featured daily-record highs of 77°F in Frankfort, KY, and Wheeling, WV. The following day, record-setting highs for March 12 included 80°F in Louisville, KY; 79°F in Evansville, IN; and 78°F in Clarksburg, WV. Meanwhile, summer-like heat developed across southern Texas, where daily-record highs for March 12 surged to 101°F in Laredo and 97°F in Del Rio. With highs of 103 and 102°F, respectively, on the 8th and 14th, McAllen, TX, tied a March record with 2 days of triple-digit heat. During the second half of the week, another heat surge briefly spread across the Plains and Midwest. On March 13, temperatures returned to record-setting territory in Des Moines, IA (77°F), and Aberdeen, SD (71°F). Des Moines achieved another record, 81°F, on March 14. Farther south, daily-record highs for the 13th reached the 90-degree mark in Houston, TX, and Shreveport, LA. By March 14, dozens of daily-record highs were set across a vast area of the Midwest, South, and East. In southern Texas, Laredo soared to 104°F, while Corpus Christi recorded 98°F. Highs on the 14th reached 82°F in Ottumwa, IA; Louisville, KY; and Clarksburg, WV. On March 15, lingering warmth was largely limited to areas along the Atlantic Coast, where daily-record highs rose to 90°F in Punta Gorda, FL, and 57°F in Houlton, ME. Farther west, Tonopah, NV, collected a daily-record low (12°F) for March 14.  In Minnesota, International Falls saw its temperature fall from a daily record high of 61°F on March 14 to 3°F by the morning of March 16, along with 1.2 inches of snow on the 15th.

16-22: For the second week in a row, near- or below-normal temperatures dominated the West, with temperatures averaging as much as 5°F below normal in scattered locations. In contrast, weekly readings averaged at least 10°F above normal from portions of the middle Atlantic States into New England. East of the Rockies, cooler-than-normal conditions were mostly confined to the central and eastern Gulf Coast States, including Florida. As the week began, warmth in advance of an Eastern cold front led to daily-record highs in locations such as Melbourne, FL (90°F), and Houlton, ME (58°F). Farther west, warmth also surged across the Plains, where record-setting highs for March 17 included 85°F in Lincoln, NE, and 81°F in Russell, KS. By March 20, Lincoln’s temperature had plunged to 21°F, following a 5.0-inch snowfall the day before. Even warmer weather affected Russell on March 18, when the daily-record high soared to 86°F. Other record-setting highs for March 18 included 91°F in Childress, TX; 87°F in Dodge City, KS; and 84°F in St. Louis, MO. Like Lincoln, NE, a dramatic transition occurred in Dodge City, with a 4.4-inch snowfall on the 19th and a minimum temperature of 22°F on the 20th. By March 19, lingering warmth was limited to the East, where daily-record highs reached 84°F in Clarksburg, WV; 81°F in Pittsburgh, PA; and 77°F in Rochester, NY. In contrast, chilly weather in California led to several daily record lows, including 32°F on March 19 in Livermore. Late in the week, cold air in the wake of a departing storm system resulted in temperatures below 20°F across much of the northwestern half of the Plains. Farther south, frost and freezes were reported in portions of the Gulf Coast States, mainly across Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. On March 21, Mobile, AL, notched a daily-record low of 30°F. In Southern freeze-affected areas, producers monitored crops such as heading winter wheat and blooming fruits. By March 22, daily record lows were noted in Florida locations such as Brooksville (34°F) and Vero Beach (39°F).

23-29: Dry weather prevailed in the nation’s southwestern quadrant and the middle and southern Atlantic States. Ongoing Southwestern dryness maintained poor spring and summer runoff prospects, unlike most Western areas along and north of a line from the Sierra Nevada to the central Rockies. Drought impacts were aggravated by pervasive warmth, which dominated the country, except from the upper Great Lakes region to New England. Weekly temperatures broadly averaged at least 5 to 10°F above normal from the Pacific Coast to the Plains, Midwest, and mid-South. Readings also averaged more than 5°F above normal in portions of the middle Atlantic States. Near- or slightly below normal temperatures were confined to the nation’s northern tier, extending eastward from northern Minnesota. As the week began, record-setting warmth arrived in the Pacific Coast States and Desert Southwest, then spread eastward. By March 24, Thermal, CA, tallied a daily-record high of 100°F. Death Valley, CA, achieved consecutive daily records on March 24 and 25, with respective highs of 99 and 101°F. Other triple-digit, daily-record highs in southern California for March 25 included 102°F in Indio, 101°F in Thermal, and 100°F in Palm Springs. With a high of 99°F on March 25, Phoenix, AZ, narrowly missed its monthly mark of 100°F, set on March 26, 1988. By March 26, monthly records were broken in Washington locations such as Spokane and Pullman—both 75°F. Previous records had been 74°F in Spokane on March 30, 1881, and 73°F in Pullman on March 20, 1999. Portland, OR (82°F on March 26), also set a monthly record, previously set with a high of 80°F on March 16, 1947, and March 25, 2025. In neighboring Idaho, Lewiston (80°F on March 26) tied a monthly record originally set on March 30, 1923. During the second half of the week, surging temperatures resulted in readings briefly topping 80°F as far north as eastern Montana, southeastern South Dakota, southern Minnesota, and southwestern Wisconsin. In La Crosse, WI, the high of 86°F on March 28 represented the earliest-ever reading above the 85-degree mark in that location, supplanting April 10, 1930. A day earlier, on the 27th, daily-record highs in Kansas had reached 90°F in Dodge City, Garden City, Medicine Lodge, and Russell. On March 28, the last day of widespread, record-setting warmth, highs surged to 89°F in McCook, NE, and Sioux City, IA. 

 

Jim G. Munley, jr.
http://www.jimmunleywx.com