Monitoring Tsunami Impacts Across the Pacific; Air Quality Concerns; Dangerous Heat; Critical Fire Weather for the West

Tsunami impacts continue for portions of the Pacific basin. Wildfire smoke causes unhealthy air in Midwest to Great Lakes. Heat dome spans Mississippi Valley to Mid-Atlantic with excessive heat warnings and advisories. Critical fire weather in Great Basin to Pacific Northwest (dry thunderstorms). Cold front spawns severe storms/heavy rain in Central U.S. today, shifts to East Coast Thursday. Read More >

March 2011 Review

The warm weather during the latter half of February continued largely unabated during March. At DFW Airport, there were 19 days during the month with highs in the 70s or 80s. Waco reached a record high of 94°F on March 26, Waco's first 90-degree day of the year. Despite an unseasonably cool conclusion to the month, there were only a handful of below normal days in March. Both DFW and Waco ended the month 4 degrees above normal.

DFW Temps - March 2011 Waco Temps - March 2011

Some areas east of I-35 picked up a half-inch or more of rainfall during March, but many areas saw little or no measurable precipitation the entire month. The image below shows estimated precipitation for the month of March.

March 2011 Precipitation

For both DFW and Waco, March 2011 ranks among the driest on record. It was the driest March since 1925 in Dallas/Fort Worth and the driest since 1972 at Waco.

Rank	Precipitation	Year
Dallas/Fort Worth Lowest Precipitation Totals for March
1	0.02	1925
2	0.07	2011
3	0.10	1972
4	0.11	1956
5	0.32	1899
6	0.34	1971
7	0.40	1940
8	0.41	1909
9	0.48	1963
10 (tie)	0.63	1936
10 (tie)	0.63	1932

Rank	Precipitation	Year
Waco Lowest Precipitation Totals for March
1	T	1925
2	0.04	1956
3	0.09	1972
4	0.15	2011
5	0.16	1950
6	0.22	1959
7	0.28	1916
8	0.37	1940
9	0.43	1986
10	0.61	1974

Location	Precipitation	Normal	Departure
March 2011 Precipitation
DFW Airport	0.07	3.06	-2.99
Waco	0.15	2.48	-2.33
Dallas Love Field	0.28	3.13	-2.85
Fort Worth Meacham	0.09
Dallas Executive	0.04
Fort Worth Alliance	0.10
Arlington	0.01	3.18	-3.17
Denton	0.12	2.82	-2.70
McKinney	0.26	3.37	-3.11
Terrell	0.76	3.30	-2.54
Corsicana	0.08	3.34	-3.26
Mineral Wells	0.05	2.69	-2.64

Location	Precipitation	Normal	Departure	% of Normal
6-Month Precipitation (October 1, 2010 - March 31, 2011)
DFW Airport	7.30	16.58	-9.28	44
Waco	8.48	15.85	-7.37	54
Dallas Love Field	8.39	17.12	-8.73	49
Fort Worth Meacham	6.15
Dallas Executive	7.50
Fort Worth Alliance	6.59
Arlington	8.42	17.75	-9.33	47
Denton	6.92	17.65	-10.73	39
McKinney	9.67	19.90	-10.23	49
Terrell	12.58	21.32	-8,74	59
Corsicana	11.29	20.17	-8.88	56
Mineral Wells	3.52	13.81	-10.29	25

Precipitation deficits have been mounting since Tropical Storm Hermine in September. Much of North Texas has received less than half of normal precipitation during the last six months. Mineral Wells' 3.52" is only 25% of normal.

The image below shows estimated precipitation deficits since October 1, 2010. Much of North and Central Texas are more than 8 inches below normal with 6-month deficits over 12 inches in portions of East Texas.

6-Month Precipitation Deficits (October 2010 - March 2011)

6-Month Precipitation Deficits (October 2010 - March 2011)

Drought continues to intensify across the region. For the first time in 2 years, the entire state of Texas is classified as at least abnormally dry. Almost 95% of the state has some drought classification. The extent of extreme drought statewide has not been matched since 2006.

For more information about the ongoing drought across North Texas, see our Drought Information Statement.

U.S. Drought Monitor - March 29, 2011

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