Weather trivia for March

Mar 1, 1988
Thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds in north
central Texas. Baseball size hail was reported at Lake Kickapoo.
Hail fell continuously for thirty minutes in the Iowa Park area
of Wichita Falls.


Mar 2, 1985
A Massive winter storm struck the Northern Plains Region. The
storm produced up to 33 inches of snow in northeastern South
Dakota, at Summit and at Milbank, and also produced high winds
which whipped the heavy snow into drifts twenty feet high.


Mar 3, 1966
A tornado hit Jackson MS killing 54 persons.
IN 1995...Heavy snow blanketed much of southwest Kansas with 5 to
10 inches reported. The snow began February 28th. Dodge City
received 9.3 inches of snow between February 28th and March 3rd.
Slick roads and poor visibility caused some accidents, closed
schools and canceled or postponed activities.


Mar 4, 1948
Heavy snow blanketed western Kansas. As much as 20 inches of snow
was on the ground at Hays. Twelve inches of snow was common across
the area. Dodge City had 18 inches on the ground, while Garden City
had 14.
IN 1966...A severe blizzard raged across Minnesota and North Dakota.
The blizzard lasted four days producing up to 35 inches of snow, and
wind gusting to 100 mph produced snow drifts 30 to 40 feet high.
Bismark ND reported zero visibility for 11 hours. Traffic was
paralyzed for three days.


Mar 5, 1990
Thunderstorms over eastern Colorado, developing ahead of a major
storm system, produced up to three inches of small hail around
Colorado Springs during the late morning and early afternoon.
Strong thundrstorms swept through southeastern sections of the
Denver area during the evening hours. These strong thunderstorms
also produced up to three inches of small hail, along with wind
gusts to 50 mph, and as much as 2.4 inches of rain.


Mar 6, 1995
A winter blizzard created icy, snow packed roads in southwest
Kansas which led to a 19 car pileup on west U.S. highway 50
between Garden City and Holcomb. No major injuries were
reported. The day began with freezing rain over the area and
then turned into a blizzard by the afternoon. Anywhere from two
to six inches of snow fell across the remainder of Kansas.
IN 2017...Many devastating wildfires erupted acoss parts of
Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Many fires were started by downed
power lines as a result from weakened connections from the
January ice storm. The largest and mostly costly fire occurred
across Clark County. There were seven separate fires. Two moved
near or through Englewood, originating in Oklahoma. Another
consumed several homes just north of Ashland. Four other fires
in northern Clark county consumed several homes initially but
became a monster fire as a cold front moved through. The fires
subsided during the first night but flared up the following
late morning and afternoon on the 7th. Livestock losses may
have been as many as 9,000 head. Total acres burned in just
Clark County were estimated at 447,000. There were 31 homes
destroyed and 6 damaged. There were a total of 108 outbuildings
destroyed and 13 othes damaged. Many, many miles of fence were
destroyed. Early damage was estimated at 3 million dollars.


Mar 7, 1996
The low of 6 degrees below zero established the record low for
the month of March at Garden City.
IN 1998...Blizzard conditions began during the afternoon hours
across southwest Kansas and lasted until the morning of the 8th.
Almost all the highways were closed for several hours with 30 to
40 mph winds causing zero to near zero visibilities. Final
snowfall totals ranged from 3 to 4 inches in Finney, Seward and
Comanche counties to 6 inches in Morton county, 7 inches in Gray
county and 8 to 10 inches in Stafford, Pratt and Ford counties.
Drifts were as high as 8 feet in some areas.
IN 2000...A tornado touched down for about 3 minutes in Liberal
during the late afternoon hours. One third of a hospital roof was
removed, a KDOT tower was blown down and several trees were uprooted.
Sheds were destroyed, the awning at a gas station was damaged and
signs were blown down. Estimated property damage was $250,000.


Mar 8, 1909
The town of Brinkley AR was struck by a tornado which killed 49
persons and caused 600 thousand dollars property damage. The
1200 yard wide tornado destroyed 860 buildings. Entire families
were killed as houses were completely swept away by the tornado.
Tornadoes killed 64 persons and injured 671 others in Dallas and
Monroe counties during the Arkansas tornado outbreak.


Mar 9, 1956
A whopping 367 inches of snow was measured on the ground at the
Ranier Paradise Ranger Station in Washington. The snow depth was
a state record and the second highest total of record for the U.S.


Mar 10, 1922
A total of 17.5 inches of snow set a 24 hour record for snowfall
at Dodge City. The snow began on March 9th.
IN 1988...The barometric pressure of 26.71 inches was the lowest
recording of all-time for Dodge City.
IN 2012...With a low of 29 degrees Dodge City established the
earliest last freeze of the spring on record.


Mar 11, 1911
Tamarack CA reported 451 inches of snow on the ground, a record
for the U.S.
IN 1948...The low of 15 degrees below zero established the record
low for the month of March at Dodge City.
IN 1948...Record cold followed in the wake of a Kansas blizzard.
Lows of minus 25 degrees at Oberlin, Healy and Quinter established a
state record for the month of March. Lows of minus 11 at Concordia
and minus 3 at Wichita were also March records.


Mar 12, 1991
High winds blasted southwest Kansas. Duststorms blackening the
sky reduced visibilities to as low as zero in some areas. Wind
gusts hit 89 mph at Garden City and 67 mph at Dodge City. A
Hamilton county official reported "this wind's blowing like
sin." The winds ripped shingles from rooftops, scattered
irrigation pipe, trimmed limbs from trees, tore up signs, store
fronts, awnings and sent debris flying. Winds were sustained at
40 to 55 mph from about 11 pm the night before to about 6 am in
the morning throughout the area.
IN 1993...This was the last measurable snowfall of the 92-93 season.
The total of 61.1 inches was a seasonal record for Dodge City.


Mar 13, 1990
A powerful tornado tore through the central Kansas community of
Hesston. The tornado killed two persons, injured sixty others,
and caused 22 million dollars damage along its 67 mile path. The
tornado had a life span of two hours.


Mar 14, 1870
The term "blizzard" was first applied to a storm which produced
heavy snow and high wind in Minnesota and Iowa.
IN 1989...High winds in Colorado and Wyoming gusted above 120 mph at
Horsetooth Heights Colorado. High winds in the Central Plains
sharply reduced visibilities in blowing dust as far east as
Kansas City Missouri. Winds gusting to 72 mph at Hill City
Kansas reduced the visibility to a city block in blowing dust.
Soil erosion in northwest Kansas damaged nearly five million
acres of wheat.


Mar 15, 1941
The most severe blizzard in modern history struck North Dakota
and Minnesota. The blizzard hit on a Saturday night while many
were traveling, and thus claimed 71 lives. Winds gusted to 75 mph
at Duluth MN, and reached 85 mph at Grand Forks ND. Snow drifts
twelve feet high were reported in north central Minnesota. A cold
front traveling 30 mph crossed Minnesota in just seven hours.


Mar 16, 1942
Two tornadoes, 24 minutes apart, struck Baldwin MS resulting in
65 deaths.
IN 1998...An ice storm occurred across southwest Kansas with anywhere
from a half inch of ice accumulation on roadways to several inches of
ice accumulations on objects such as radio towers. Every radio
station in the area had damage due to the ice accumulation.
There was one report of a chunk of ice falling completely through
a cab of a pickup. Fortunately, no one was inside at the time.
An 800 foot radio tower completely fell down with a reported six
inches of ice accumulation. 1450 power poles came down across
the area. Power was out for 4 to 6 days in some places.


Mar 17, 1988
A winter storm produced heavy snow from the northeast Texas
Panhandle to the Ozark area of Missouri and Arkansas. Up to 15
inches of snow was reported in Oklahoma and Texas. Snowfall totals
in the Ozark area ranged up to 14 inches, with unofficial reports
as high as 22 inches around Harrison AR.


Mar 18, 1925
The great Tri-State Tornado occurred, the most deadly tornado in
U.S. history. The tornado claimed 695 lives including 234 at
Murphysboro Illinois and 148 at West Frankfort Illinois, and
caused seventeen million dollars property damage. It cut a swath
of destruction 219 miles long and as much as a mile wide from
east central Missouri to southern Indiana. Seven other tornadoes
claimed an additional 97 lives that day.
IN 1971...High winds accompanied a low pressure system from the
Rocky Mountains to the Great Lakes. Winds gusted to 100 mph at
Hastings NE, and reached 115 mph at Hays KS. High winds caused
two million dollars damage in Kansas.
IN 1982...A farm home was destroyed by a tornado, and outbuildings
were damaged 6 miles NNW of Liberal. Debris was scattered for a
half mile. About 2 miles N of Sublette, a mobile home was
overturned. No injuries were reported.
IN 1998...Total snow accumulations in southwest Kansas ranged up
to 8 to 12 inches in Stafford, Comanche, Ford, Gray, Finney, Grant,
Morton, Seward, Meade and Clark counties. 20 to 30 mph winds
accompanied the snowfall resulting in visibilities under a half
mile and significant drifting of the snow.


Mar 19, 1907
The high of 98 degrees established the record high for the month
of March at Dodge City.
IN 1935...Suffocating dust storms occurred frequently in southeast
Colorado between the 12th and the 25th of the month. Six people
died, and many livestock starved or suffocated. Up to six feet
of dust covered the ground. Schools were closed, and many rural
homes were deserted by tenants.
IN 1984...A major winter storm produced blizzard conditions in
northwestern Kansas and southern Nebraska. This storm, which
began affecting the region on the 18th, dumped 10 to 20 inches
of snow over the above mentioned areas. A severe ice storm
occurred in northeastern Kansas with 1 inch ice accumulations
common. The 1400 foot radio tower for KLDH TV near Topeka
buckled and then collapsed from the weight of a 3 inch coating
of ice. This ice storm ranks as one of the worst ever to hit
Kansas.


Mar 20, 1989
A strong storm system brought blizzard conditions to far western
Kansas during the morning and afternoon hours. Winds of 40 to 60
mph and temperatures in the lower 20s accompanied the snow.
Visibilities were reduced to under 1/2 mile due to the blowing
and drifting snow. Snowfall amounts were generally in the 1 to 3
inch range with 4 to 7 inches in portions of southwest Kansas
near Garden city. Many roads in the area were closed during the
storm.


Mar 21, 1932
A tornado swarm occurred in the Deep South. Between late
afternoon and early the next morning severe thunderstorms spawned
31 tornadoes in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee. The
tornadoes killed 334 persons and injured 1784 others. Northern
Alabama was hardest hit. Tornadoes in Alabama killed 286 persons
and caused five million dollars damage.
IN 1952...Severe thunderstorms spawned 31 tornadoes across Arkansas,
Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama and Kentucky. The
tornadoes killed 343 persons and caused 15 million dollars
damage. The towns of Judsonia AR and Henderson TN were nearly
wiped off the map in what proved to be the worst tornado
outbreak of record for Arkansas. A tornado, one and a half
miles wide at times, left a church the only undamaged building
at Judsonia.


Mar 22, 1936
A great flood crested on rivers from Ohio to Maine. The flood
claimed 107 lives and caused 270 million dollars property damage.


Mar 23, 1913
A vicious tornado hit the city of Omaha NE. The tornado struck
during the late afternoon on Easter Sunday, and in just 12
minutes cut a swath of destruction five miles long and two
blocks wide across the city killing 94 persons.
IN 1987...The first of two blizzards within a week of each other hit
southwest Kansas. At Dodge City, strong north winds blew and
increased to peak gusts of 78 mph at noon. The very strong winds
continued in the 73 to 77 mph range for about 4 hours. Snow and
blowing snow continued to reduce visibilities to near zero with
wind speeds of 40 to 50 mph until the early morning hours on
march 25th. The snow depth was recorded at 11 inches of wet
snow. The wet snow helped to prevent a tremendous amount of
drifting even with 60 to 70 mph winds. Very solid snow drifts
stood 6 feet tall on the dodge city airport.
IN 2016...A fire started in Northern Oklahoma late on the 22nd and
spread rapidly into Comanche and Barber counties during the night.
During the following day a dry line with very strong west winds
moved through causing the fire to shift and rapidly advance towards
Medicine Lodge. Luckily a cold front followed and pushed the fire
southeast as the fire reached the edge of town. Nearly 400,000
acres of land burned before the fire finally was out. In addition,
as much as four inches of snow fell on the fire area on Easter
Sunday which helped efforts to completely contain the fire.


Mar 24, 1912
Residents of Kansas City began to dig out from a storm that
produced 25 inches of snow in 24 hours. A total of 40 inches of
snow fell during the month of March that year, and the total for
the winter season of 67 inches was also a record. Olathe Kansas
received 37 inches of snow in the snowstorm, establishing a
single storm record for the state of Kansas.


Mar 25, 1934
A spring snowstorm produced 21 inches of snow at Amarillo TX in
just 24 hours. However, much of the snow melted as it fell, and
as a result, the snow cover was never any deeper than 4.5
inches.
IN 1948...For the second time in less than a week airplanes were
destroyed by a tornado at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City OK. The
first tornado, on March 20th, struck without warning and caused
more damage than any previous tornado in the state of Oklahoma.
The second tornado was predicted by Fawbush and Miller of the
United States Air Force, and their accurate tornado forecast
ushered in the modern era of severe weather forecasting.
IN 1957...A great blizzard which began March 22nd ended. Snow
had fallen every hour from 10 pm on the 22nd until 1 pm on the
25th. The storm dropped an estimated 18.5 inches of snow in Dodge
City. Southwest Kansas had been completely paralyzed from the
storm. Every highway in the western part of the state was closed
by drifts of up to 10 feet and more. Local motels, churches and
schools were packed with stranded travelers and several people
were reported missing as a result of the great blizzard in southwest
Kansas. Three passenger trains had become stuck in the storm; one
four miles east of Dodge City, one west of Garden City and another
near Meade. An estimated 600-700 head of cattle were lost. The
southern sides of most buildings were completely covered with drifts
and 20 to 30 foot drifts were not uncommon.
IN 1987...Heavy rain left rivers and streams swollen in Kansas and
Nebraska, causing considerable crop damage due to flooding of
agricultural areas. The Saline River near Wilson Reservoir in
central Kansas reached its highest level since 1951.


Mar 26, 1913
The Ohio River Basin flood reached a climax. Ten inch rains
over a wide area of the Ohio River Basin inundated cities in
Ohio, drowning 467 persons. The Miami River at Dayton reached a
level eight feet higher than ever before. The flood, caused by
warm weather and heavy rains, was the second most deadly of
record for the nation.
IN 1989...Thunderstorms that moved into south-central Kansas from
northwest Oklahoma produced considerable lightning activity in
Clark and Comanche counties. Many range fires were started when
lightning struck the very dry grass in the region. Several
cattle were lost in the fires along with some fences and
corrals. An estimated 7,000 acres of land was burned in the two
counties.
IN 1991...High winds caused damage to homes across Kansas. Winds
gusted over 80 mph in the southwest, and gusted to between 60 and
70 mph across the rest of the state. Roofs were torn off in the
Dodge City and Garden City areas, and several cars and homes were
damaged in the Fort Scott area. Total damage estimate from the
high wind episode was 1.5 million dollars.


Mar 27, 1890
An outbreak of tornadoes occurred in the Ohio Valley. One
tornado struck Louisville KY killing 78 persons and causing four
million dollars damage.
IN 1931...A blizzard which struck western Kansas and adjoining
states was called the "worst since January eighteen eighty eight".
The low temperature of 3 degrees below zero which was reached
during the blizzard stands as the coldest recorded so late in the
season.
IN 1987...A second blizzard in less than a week hit southwest
Kansas. North winds of 35 to 45 mph with peak gusts to 50 mph
caused much blowing and drifting of snow with visibilities near zero.
The blizzard finally ended during the early afternoon on march 29th
and had virtually shut down the entire Southwest part of kansas.
Some north south roads were still closed on March 31st in the
northern part of southwest Kansas. There was 5 inches of snow
reported at Dodge City although much of it was in 5 to 6 foot
drifts. Garden city received 12 to 14 inches of snow.
IN 1991...A powerful storm moved through southwest Kansas during
the early morning hours bringing high winds and dust storms to
the area. The peak wind gust at both Dodge City and Garden City
was 84 mph. The winds felled trees, shattered glass, downed
fences, rolled trucks, snapped poles, ripped shingles from homes
and mangled awnings. A main distribution feeder in the north part
of Garden City was destroyed. Visibilities in some areas were
at zero. Total damage was 1.5 million dollars.
IN 2004...A tornado moved through Edwards county in southwestern
Kansas during the early afternoon hours from 5 miles northwest of
KInsley to 12 miles north of Kinsley. This tornado became very
large and dusty. Several farms were hit with minor damage to
other outbuildings across it's path. Five equipment buildings were
destroyed and a house was knocked off it's foundation. Trees
were mangled and debarked. A stock trailer was blown 3/4 of a
mile from it's original location and an oil tank was 3 tenths of a
mile.
IN 2009...A major winter storm began on March 27th and ended by the
28th. More than a foot of snow accumulated across a large part of
southwest and south central Kansas with the heaviest snowfall in
south central Kansas. Nearly all roads were closed for an extended
period due to zero visibilities and widespread 10 to 20 foot drifts.
Snowfall from the event was heaviest from southeast Clark to Pratt
Counties where 28 to 30 inches fell in a 24 hour period. The
cooperative observer in Pratt reported 30 inches of snow in 24 hours
which established a state record.


Mar 28, 1984
A severe outbreak of tornadoes hit the Carolinas. Thunderstorms
spawned 22 tornadoes during the late afternoon and evening hours
which killed 57 persons and injured 1248 others. Nearly half the
deaths occurred in mobile homes.
IN 2009...Pratt Kansas established a state 24 hour record snowfall
amount with 30 inches of snow reported. The previous record was
24 inches at Norcatur on October 26 1996.


Mar 29, 1935
A severe dust storm blanketed Amarillo Texas for 84 hours.
During one six hour period the visibility was near zero.


Mar 30, 1989
Several severe thunderstorms formed over southwest Kansas during
the late afternoon hours and then moved into south central
sections of the state. Hail up to golf ball size and strong
winds to 60 mph were reported. Strong winds from a thunderstorm
blew a truck off highway 83, 14 miles north of Sublette.


Mar 31, 1892
A tornado moved north, hitting along the edge of Kiowa, KS.
This tornado tore apart five homes, and destroyed the railroad
depot on the edge of town. Downburst damage was extensive in
town, making life miserable for the "boomers" that were waiting
for the opening of the Cherokee strip in Oklahoma.
IN 1892...A tornado killed nine people and injured 60 others in
the town of Towanda KS, located about 20 miles northeast of Wichita.
IN 1996...March ended another month of extreme dryness. The period
from July 1995 through March 1996 was the driest period ever at many
locations across western Kansas, with records dating back 120
years. The wheat crop was almost completely wiped out by the
drought.

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