MONTHLY WEATHER OBSERVATIONS JOHNSTOWN (WESTMONT) PA MARCH 2005 OBSERVER STEVE MULLINS Special Observations: F=fog, T=thunder, H=hail, S=sleet, G=glaze, DW=damaging winds Observation time for this station is midnight. Temperature, °F Precipitation, In. Liquid Solid 7am 24-hour Rain Snow/ Snow Date Max Min Equiv Ice Depth Special Obs. 1 25 18 .35 5.0 12 2 19 16 .16 4.0 16 3 19 10 .03 1.0 16 4 29 9 15 5 34 22 12 F 6 44 24 10 7 53 38 T 4 8 38 8 .54 2.5 2 9 17 8 .01 0.5 2 10 22 12 .13 3.0 5 11 31 20 .42 6.0 5 12 32 20 .28 3.0 8 13 28 16 .05 0.5 7 14 27 10 6 15 32 14 4 16 32 21 3 17 41 25 2 18 44 29 T 19 48 32 T 20 41 31 .10 T T F 21 36 29 .09 0.5 F,G 22 49 26 F 23 42 31 .96 T F,G 24 31 30 .09 T F,G 25 36 30 .02 T F 26 33 31 .05 0.5 F 27 38 33 .52 F 28 44 35 .88 F 29 53 37 .02 F 30 61 36 F 31 52 45 T AVG/SUM 36.5 24.1 4.70 26.5 - EXT 61 8 0.96 6.0 16 Date 30 9* 23 11 3* *=Also occurred on earlier dates Miscellaneous Stats: Mean Monthly Temperature: 30.3 F Year precipitation to date: 14.73" Season snowfall to date: 85.0" Number of days with: Fog: 12 Ice Pellets: 0 Glaze: 3 Thunder: 0 Hail: 0 Damaging Winds: 0 NOTES AND/OR SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: 1: Overnight snow another 2.0" fell by 7am. Light to moderate snow and blowing snow through the day with estimated gusts from the W estimated at 32 mph. About 5.0" more snow fell. 2: Light snow and snow showers through the day and very windy with WNW winds gusting to 40 mph causing lots of blowing and drifting. Some peaks of sun in between snow showers. About 4.0" more snow fell. 3: Some light snow overnight & through the day with peaks of sun and W to NW winds gusting to 25 mph. About another inch of snow fell bringing the grand total to 16.0" since 2/28. 4: Clear cold AM low 9 F. Sunny with increasing clouds during the afternoon. 5: AM fog becoming mostly sunny and slightly milder. 6: Mostly sunny, milder and windy with WNW winds estimated gusts to 40 mph. 7: Sunny, breezy and mild with increasing clouds from the SW by evening and a few sprinkles. Light rain began around midnight. 8: Rain overnight changed to snow with falling temperatures and gusty winds as a cold front moved through. A total of 2.5" snow fell by 9am with snow tapering off. NW winds gusted 30-40 mph with a few peaks of sun during the afternoon. Low dipped to a cold 8 F by midnight. 9: Mostly to partly sunny, windy and very cold. Flurries & light snow showers through the day. About another 0.5" fell. 10: More snow overnight another 2.5" fell. Still cold with periods of sun and snow showers through the day. Total 3.0" fell and was very dry melting down to only .03" water. Continued cold. 11: Light AM snow became moderate during the afternoon and gusty WSW winds. Snow continued through the evening for a total of 6.0" by midnight. 12: Light snow through the day with gusty W winds to 30 mph. A few peaks of sun at times. Another 3.0" snow fell. 13: Some more light snow overnight another 0.5" fell. Partial clearing by mid-afternoon. Temperatures fell to 16 F by midnight. 14: Clear and cold with a low of 10 F overnight and a cold high 27 F despite 100% sunshine. 15: Mostly sunny and breezy. Continued cold. 16: Fair skies and continued a bit cold with light winds. 17: A milder day with mostly clear skies becoming mostly cloudy by late afternoon. 18: Mostly sunny, mild & breezy. 19: AM frost. Mostly sunny but increasing PM clouds. Mild high 48 F. 20: Fog, mist & light rain through the day with slowly falling temperatures. 21: Overnight NW winds gusting to 30 mph. Light snow showers through the day about 0.5" fell. Some freezing drizzle during the evening. 22: AM fog then mostly sunny and mild, becoming mostly cloudy again late. 23: Temperatures fell through the night with heavy rain beginning around 3am. Light to moderate rain and fog through the day with SSE breezes to 20 mph. Some snow and freezing drizzle mixed in during the afternoon and evening hours. A total of 0.96" precip fell, trace of snow. 24: Cold and foggy with periods of freezing drizzle and snow, mainly during the morning. Trace of snow and ice. Fog dense at times. 25: Overnight dense fog and mist/light drizzle. Some light AM snow/rain mixed. 26: Continued foggy and cold with light snow overnight 0.5" fell. Fog again dense at times. 27: Overcast and foggy with a cold rain this afternoon and evening 0.52" fell by midnight. Winds increased from the SSW with gusts up to 25 mph. 28: Overnight fog and periods of rain. Light rain continued through early afternoon. Moderate rain this evening and breezy with winds shifting from SSE to N and NE. A total of 0.88" rain fell. 29: Rain ended overnight, continued foggy. Clouds/fog broke by noon, partly cloudy and milder during the afternoon with moderate west breezes. 30: Dense fog early then became sunny and quite mild high 61 F. Light and variable S and SE winds. 31: Mild with increasing clouds and a brief light PM shower (trace). Winds generally from S gusting to 22 mph. Peepers heard late this evening for the first time this season. SUMMARY: March was cold, windy and snowy with below normal temperatures and near normal precipitation. The first half of March more closely resembled January with frequent snows and bitter cold winds. Temperatures moderated somewhat during the second half of the month. The bulk of the month's precipitation came from two strong spring storms that dropped heavy rain on the 23rd and 27th-28th.