MONTHLY WEATHER DATA AND OBS - WESTMONT 1.1W PA MARCH 2010 OBSERVERS NATE AND STEVE MULLINS Special Observations: F=fog, T=thunder, H=hail, S=sleet, G=glaze, DW=damaging winds Observation time for this station is midnight (Eastern US). Temperature, °F Precipitation, In. Liquid Solid 7am 24-hour At Rain Snow/ Snow Date Max Min Obs Equiv Ice Depth Special Obs. 1 34 28 28 .09 0.5 33 S 2 35 26 28 T T 31 S 3 35 26 26 .04 0.7 31 4 36 21 24 30 5 40 21 24 28 6 40 18 29 27 7 43 25 34 26 8 45 28 37 24 9 55 25 37 23 10 63 34 43 21 11 60 36 48 .01 19 12 49 41 41 .40 15 F 13 43 34 34 .58 12 F 14 42 34 37 .06 9 F 15 38 35 38 .01 8 16 55 33 44 7 17 59 29 44 6 18 59 28 48 3 19 63 42 52 1 20 66 38 50 T 21 72 39 57 0 22 63 48 48 .21 T 23 48 34 37 .25 T F,S 24 55 37 42 25 65 34 41 .38 F 26 42 28 28 .07 27 47 21 35 28 45 31 40 .63 F 29 53 39 42 .12 F 30 51 30 37 31 62 33 47 AVG/SUM 50.4 31.5 38.7 2.85 1.2 11.4 <--mean EXT 72 18 57(21) 0.63 0.7 33 Date 21 6 24(5*) 28 3 1 *=Also occurred on earlier dates Miscellaneous Stats Mean Monthly Temperature: 41.0°F (+4.2°F) Year precipitation to date: 13.98" (+2.88") Monthly precipitation departure: 2.85" vs. 3.87" = (-1.02") Season snowfall to date: 163.7" Number of days with: Fog 7 Sleet 3 Thunder 1 DETAILED OBSERVATION NOTES 1: Intermittent light snow & sleet overnight, 0.4" additional snowfall by 7am. Occasional light ice pellets (sleet) on and off and a few snow showers this afternoon, only 0.1" additional accumulation. Some breaks in the clouds after sunset. Breezy early with NW winds gusting ~ 20 mph, diminishing by evening. 33" of snow on the ground ties my short-term station record (commencing August 2004), with Feb. 10th & 11th. 2: Cloudy with occasional very fine spits of ice or snow flurries. Temperatures again relatively steady, with light winds fluctuating from W to NE, but averaging NW. Only a trace of snow. 3: Light snow overnight (0.7") and remained overcast this morning with breezy NW winds. A few PM flurries but some occasional peaks of sun, with skies becoming clear after sunset w/ lighter winds. 4: A rare and welcome sunny/mostly sunny day with passing high clouds, gusty NW winds and mild again (compared to late). March seems to be coming like a lamb, which is welcome after February's incessant snow & cold. 5: Another sunny, mild day with temperatures reaching 40 F early this afternoon and 100% sunshine. A good bit of snow melt, especially on south-facing surfaces. Again, NW winds gusty at times, diminishing by sunset. 6: Clear & chilly overnight low 18 F w/ light NW winds & occasional breezes. Sunny w/ seasonal mild temps high again 40 F. Probably would be warmer, but so much energy goes into melting the still 2+ ft of snow... 7: Another clear, sunny day with seasonably temperatures. Occasionally breezy (W to occasionally NW winds). 8: Clear and sunny again. A little bit milder each day. Light to occasionally moderate W breezes. A core sample melt of the 2' of snow yielded a staggering 6.96" of precipitation locked in the dense snow pack. 9: A sharp drop in temperatures from 37 @ midnight to 25 F by 6am, then a rapid rebound to a balmy 55 F, our mildest reading since Nov. 29th (58 F). The warmth, light variable breezes & 100% sun with very thin scattered cirrus made for great ski conditions at nearby Blue Knob and some fantastic panoramic views. 10: Clear overnight and slightly milder, 34 F is the first above-freezing low temperature since Jan. 16th (33) and mildest since Dec. 14th (36). Variably to mostly cloudy & very mild high 63 F with moderate breezes from the S. Overcast & still mild this evening with temperatures in the 40s. Flood watches in effect. 11: Mostly cloudy overnight low 36 F. Became partly sunny, breezy & mild again high 60 F w/ S winds gusting 25+ mph. Cloudy with a quick rise in humidity this evening, light rain late, mild (48 F @ midnight). 12: Light to moderate steady rain overnight, .40" by 7am with rain ending and dense fog forming. Fog lifted quickly with light S to E winds occasionally gusting 15-20 mph. Light drizzle this evening. 13: Occasional light rain & drizzle overnight & through the morning, strong ENE breezes gusting 25-30 mph, some patchy fog. Occasional rain through the day, mainly in the afternoon & evening .58" fell today. A good bit of flooding in the area, but not nearly as bad as expected, as the heaviest rains seemed to split and miss our area, especially to the NE where 2-3" fell. Streams and rivers were quite swollen, and there were some scattered road closures & flooded basements, but all and all we dodged a big bullet. 14: Overcast & patchy fog, drizzle developed during the afternoon & evening hours, .06" fell. Minor river flooding continues in the area. Winds died down to very light and shifted from NE to NW. 15: Overcast with some early light drizzle, light winds from NW. Cloudy all day with steady temps upper 30s. 16: Mostly cloudy overnight and early this morning, becoming sunny & mild with light N to NW breezes. A beautiful day with the remaining snow melting rapidly and becoming patchy. 17: Clear & calm overnight with heavy AM frost. Clear, sunny & mild high 59 F with light NW winds. 18: Cold & clear overnight, again followed by a mild, sunny & pleasant day with light NW to W breezes. 19: Much milder overnight low 42 F, also a mild sunny day and clear, mild evening with light WSW breezes. 20: Fair skies this morning w/ light SW winds. Low of 38 F with a quick rebound in temperatures to a balmy 66, 100% sunshine & light to occasionally moderate SW breezes. Beautiful 1st official day of Spring. Mildest reading since Nov. 8th (69), and first day since Dec. 5th with no measurable snow on the ground at 7am, breaking a record streak of 104 days! 21: Fair this morning with a low of 39 F, sunny & mild with increasing clouds during the afternoon, high 72 F, the warmest reading since last Sep. 23 (74). Overcast this evening. 22: Overcast with a period of rain early this morning (.10"). A few brief AM showers, variably cloudy, gusty winds from S to SE, mild again. A weaking thunderstorm moved through at 10:30pm with only very brief heavy rain. This storm earlier prompted severe storm and flood warnings in our old hometown LaVale/Cumberland. 23: A brief shower (.02") after midnight with falling temperatures to 37 F by 8am & patchy fog, low heavy over- cast with occasional AM showers and remaining chilly with temperatures in the mid-30s all day and gusty W to NW winds. Intermittent light rain & drizzle, briefly mixed with sleet & snow around 4pm. 0.25" precip. 24: Very windy overnight, gusts to 40 mph from the west. Became mostly sunny today with winds diminishing, a bit milder. 25: A brief light shower early this morning, remaining mostly cloudy with moderate SW breezes (20-25 mph gusts) and mild high 65 F. Becoming overcast by early evening with light rain commencing around 6pm, becoming moderate by 9pm, light again 11pm-midnight .38" rain by then. Patchy fog, near calm winds this evening. 26: Light rain ended overnight, clearing skies by daybreak. Winds from NE to NW, occasionally gusty. Much cooler today with a high of only 42 F despite fair skies. 27: Clear & cold overnight low 21 F, fair with gradual increase in high clouds during the day, gusty S winds, still a bit cool. Fair skies with a large halo around the nearly full moon this evening. 28: Increasing clouds overnight low 31 F. Few weak peaks of AM sun, but mainly overcast with rain commencing around 1pm, becoming moderate to heavy at times from 3pm-5pm and continuing through 8pm .63" rain fell. 29: A couple of brief showers overnight, patchy dense AM fog. Seasonably mild with mostly cloudy skies - heavy rain shower passed just east of here around 6pm, a second moderate rain shower dropped .08" from 7:30-8pm. 30: Clearing skies overnight and colder with light variable winds. Partly to mostly sunny by daybreak, mostly sunny & becoming quite windy with NW winds gusting ~ 35 mph at times. 31: Variably cloudy overnight & breezy, sunny & breezy, milder high 62 F. Winds diminishing and shifting from NW to W by early evening. Clear skies. MONTHLY SUMMARY March brought a major temperature reversal after a very cold and record snowy winter. The incessant snows we received in February came to an end early in the month, with the 3rd seeing our last measurable snow, perhaps of the entire season. Only 1.2" fell, after an incredible 86.3" in February. This is the same meager total as in March '09, except we did average this year a mean snow depth of 11.4" vs a paltry 0.03" in 2009! Mean- while, temperatures gradually warmed up, and by the second week, spring arrived in full force, with temps reaching the 60s and the nearly 3 feet of snow pack quickly melting down. Moderate to heavy rain fell in the area on the 12th-13th from a slow-moving, northbound low pressure area over the Mid-Atlantic states. Our area however escaped most of the heavy, flooding rains, with 2 to 3 inch amounts common within 20 miles to the east and north. Just over an inch of rain fell here from the storm. Considering the mild temperatures and rapid snow melt, we dodged a huge bullet of what could have been catastrophic flooding, rivaling many other great Johnstown floods. Rivers and streams were swollen, there were some flooded basements and scattered road closures, but all in all, we escaped the strong mid-month storm relatively unscathed. Temperatures following the mid month rain event quickly rebounded. The 3rd week of March was the "nicest" week of the month by far, with temperatures in the 50s and 60s, and reaching a balmy 72 by the 21st. Nearly every day had either sunny or mostly sunny skies. The 4th week was active, with three systems (22nd-23rd, 25th-26th, 28th-29th) bringing modest amounts of rainfall, gusty winds and causing moderate temperature fluctuations. The month's extreme temperatures were once again quite modest, particularly in the min temperature department, with the low only reaching 18 on the 6th, and only one particularly cold reading after the 9th, 21 on the 27th. 15 days (nearly half the time) were in the 50s or higher. Overall, this was a very mild March, ranking amongst the top 5 warmest in the past half-century. This was obviously a huge reversal, but also a welcome change for those who were sick of the particularly harsh winter. Precipitation was below normal for the first time since November, with many surrounding areas receiving 1 to 3 inches more than us. Most of the systems did not live up to their expectations in forecasted rainfall, but very few would complain about the many stretches of mild, fair weather during March 2010.