The month of March 2014 was cooler and drier than normal. The thirty-day outlook had called for near normal temperatures and above normal precipitation. When revised on February 28, it called for below normal temperatures and near normal precipitation. Compared with March 2013, the month was 1.2 deg. Cooler, and 1.02 inch wetter. Year-to-date rainfall was 2.90 inches less in 2014 than in 2013.
March, quite literally, came in like a lion. After a mild opening to the month, a major winter storm struck on the afternoon of the 2nd, leaving 1.2 inches of sleet. Most of this fell in a heavy sleet shower between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. that afternoon.
Schools were closed on the 3rd and 4th, and about 35,000 customers lost electric service. The ice did not melt from vegetation until the afternoon of the 5th. The high temperature on the 3rd was the coldest maximum ever recorded in March (see below). Temperatures continued below normal until the 10th, with a reinforcing cold front again
lowering readings on the 6th.
Mild temperatures on the 10th and 11th were replaced by another cool air mass on the 12th. Mild air returned on the 14th and 15th, and then another cold front brought rain on the night of the 15th and very windy conditions on the 16th. Another cold front came through on the morning of the 19th, reversing the warm-up of the previous day. There was some patchy light rain in Gregg and Rusk Counties early that morning. There was also some remnant dust and smoke on the 19th from a West Texas dust storm and Northwest Texas wildland fires which had occurred on the 18th.
Temperatures were seasonably mild on the 20th and 21st, warmed on the 22nd, but cooled again between the 23rd and 26th. Warming on the 27th and 28th preceded a storm system and cold front on the 28th which brought severe weather on the afternoon of the 28th. A peak wing gust of 51 mph was clocked at Pounds Field at 5:34 p.m. on that afternoon, with small hail in the city.
Weak disturbances on the 26th and 27th brought patchy light rain to parts of the region. The 84-degree maximum on the afternoon of the 28th was the first time the thermometer in Tyler had reached 80 since November 17, 2013.
The final weekend in March was mild, fair, and dry, with warming and increased humidities commencing on the 31st. March went out like a lamb.
- KEY TO SYMBOLS:
- A = HAIL
- B = BLOWING
- D = DUST
- F = FOG
- H = HAZE
- IP = SLEET
- K = SMOKE
- L = DRIZZLE
- R = RAIN
- S = SNOW
- T = THUNDERSTORM
- Z = GREENWICH MEAN TIME
- ZL = FREEZING DRIZZLE
- ZR = FREEZING RAIN
- - = LIGHT
- + = HEAVY
The reporting period for temperatures and phenomenon on each day is for the twenty-four hours ending at midnight hours GMT--6 p.m. CST and 7 p.m. CDT. The reporting period for precipitation is for the twenty-four hours ending at noon GMT--6 a.m. CST and 7 a.m. CDT. All times are given using the twenty-four hour clock, and are expressed in Greenwich Mean Time.
Observations are from NWS Station 41/9207/4 in Tyler, Texas. The term "normal" refers to averages from the standard climatic period 1971-2000.
March 2014
MX MN OBS PCPN REMARKS
- 01 77 57 73 F
- 02 73 30 30 0.60 F, T, IP, S, PCPN 1900-2400
- DAILY HIGH 69, OVERNIGHT LOW 67, 0.7 IN. SLEET
- ACCUMULATION
- 03 30 17 24 1.70 IP, S, AMOUNT IS FOR 26 HOURS ENDING AT 00Z;
- DAILY HIGH 25, ADDITIONAL 0.5 IN. SLEET
- ACCUMULATION, ICE STILL ON GROUND 0.5 IN.
- 04 36 23 33 F, ICE STILL ON GROUND
- 05 44 28 43 F
- 06 59 39 55 tr.
- 07 66 32 62 F, H
- 08 62 47 52 0.12 F, PCPN 1900-2100
- DAILY HIGH 57
- 09 57 38 54 0.06 F, PCPN 0300-0400
- 10 76 40 71 F +F
- 11 77 55 73 F
- 12 73 47 58 DAILY HIGH 62
- 13 69 33 65
- 14 70 44 66
- 15 67 58 62 0.06 F, PCPN 2200-2400
- 16 62 43 43 0.35 PCPN 0000-0300 OVERNIGHT LOW 52; DAILY HIGH 56
- 17 62 39 58
- 18 78 44 74
- 19 74 49 61 DAILY HIGH 64
- 20 74 40 69
- 21 79 45 75
- 22 77 61 72 F, H
- 23 72 50 53 0.02 F, PCPN 2000-2100 DAILY HIGH 60
- 24 68 40 64 F
- 25 65 42 60 H
- 26 65 41 57 tr.
- 27 67 53 67 0.01 PCPN 2000-2100
- 28 84 59 60 0.42 T, A, F, PCPN 2200-2400 OVERNIGHT LOW 67
- 29 75 48 69 0.07 PCPN 0000-0100
- 30 76 42 73 H
- 31 80 52 76 tr.
March 2014, RECORDS AND SUMMARY:
- IN MARCH PREVIOUS RECORD 27 FROM MARCH 5, 1989;
- 4TH, RECORD LOW MAXIMUM 36, PREVIOUS RECORD 38 FROM 1960;
- 22Z MARCH 2 THROUGH 20Z MARCH 4, 46 CONSECUTIVE HOURS OF SUB-
- FREEZING TEMPERATURES;
- 7TH, LAST FREEZE, GROWING SEASON BEGINS;
- 9TH 08Z, DAYLIGHT-SAVING TIME RETURNS;
- 20TH VERNAL EQUINOX @1657Z;
- 28TH SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 22Z-23Z, SMALL HAIL, PK GST 51 MPH @KTYR
- @2234Z;
- HIGHEST TEMPERATURE 84 ON THE 28TH,
- LOWEST TEMPERATURE 17 ON THE 3RD,
- AVERAGE MAXIMUM 67.5 F.,
- AVERAGE MINIMUM 43.1 F.,
- AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 55.3 F.,
- 3.7 DEG. COOLER THAN NORMAL.
- 334 HEATING DEGREE DAYS,
- 149.1 PERCENT OF NORMAL HEATING DEGREE DAYS.
- 14 COOLING DEGREE DAYS,
- 37.8 PERCENT OF NORMAL COOLING DEGREE-DAYS;
- TOTAL PRECIPITATION 3.41 IN.,
- 0.78 IN. LESS THAN MONTHLY NORMAL.
- 81.4 PERCENT OF NORMAL MONTHLY PRECIPITATION.
- YEAR-TO-DATE PRECIPITATION 6.72 IN.,
- 5.02 IN. LESS THAN NORMAL YEAR-TO-DATE PRECIPITATION,
- 57.2 PERCENT OF NORMAL YEAR-TO-DATE PRECIPITATION;
- 2 DAYS ON WHICH THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED;
- 10 DAYS ON WHICH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION OCCURRED;
- 2 DAYS WITH GREATER THAN 0.50 IN. PRECIPITATION,
- 1 DAYS WITH GREATER THAN 1.00 IN. PRECIPITATION;
- GREATEST TWENTY-FOUR HOUR PRECIPITATION 1.70 ON THE 3RD;
- 16 DAYS ON WHICH THE VISIBILITY WAS RESTRICTED TO BETWEEN 1/2 AND 6 MILES BY FOG, SMOKE, OR HAZE;
- 1 DAYS ON WHICH THE VISIBILITY WAS RESTRICTED TO 1/4 MILE OR LESS BY FOG;
- 1 DAYS ON WHICH THE VISIBILITY WAS RESTRICTED BY DUST OR BLOWING DUST;
- 3 DAYS ON WHICH FROZEN PRECIPITATION WAS OBSERVED;
- 1.2 IN. TOTAL SNOWFALL.
- 0 DAYS ON WHICH THE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE REACHED OR EXCEEDED 90 DEG.;
- 0 DAYS ON WHICH THE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE REACHED OR EXCEEDED 100 DEG.;
- 1 DAYS ON WHICH THE TEMPERATURE FAILED TO RISE ABOVE 32 DEG.
- 5 DAYS ON WHICH THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE REACHED OR FELL BELOW 32 DEG.
- 2413 SEASON-TO-DATE HEATING DEGREE DAYS,
- 117.5 PERCENT OF NORMAL SEASON-TO-DATE HEATING DEGREE DAYS;
- 31 YEAR-TO-DATE COOLING DEGREE DAYS,
- 62.0 PERCENT OF NORMAL YEAR-TO-DATE COOLING DEGREE DAYS;
- PRECIPITATION DURING THE PREVIOUS TWELVE MONTHS 47.95 IN.,
- TWELVE-MONTH PRECIPITATION PERCENTAGE 102.8.
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