I know, I know. It’s the first week of spring and the weather outside is frightful. At least it was the Monday before the vernal equinox, when snowflakes were landing on my deck.
What’s going on out there?
It’s well beyond the Ides of March — must we still beware?
Although the calendar may shout spring, history tells us a much different story. March can be cranky. Take a look at these historical weather facts compiled by Hugh Crowther of the Aviation Weather Center in Kansas City. They all took place on March 20. Happy spring!
1924: A late winter storm in Oklahoma produced nearly a foot of snow at Oklahoma City and at Tulsa.
1948: The city of Juneau, Alaska, received 31 inches of snow in 24 hours, a record for the Alaska capitol.
1984: A severe three-day winter storm came to an end over the Central Plains. The storm produced up to 20 inches of snow in Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas, and left a thick coat of ice from eastern Kansas across northwestern Missouri into Iowa.
1988: Squalls in the Great Lakes Region left up to 8 inches of new snow on the ground in time for the official start of spring.
1989: Snow and high winds created blizzard conditions in western Kansas to usher in the official start of the spring season. Thunderstorms produced severe weather from east Texas to Alabama and northwest Florida, with nearly 50 reports of large hail and damaging winds during the afternoon and evening hours.
1990: The northeastern United States was in the midst of a snowstorm as spring officially began at 4:19 p.m. Snowfall totals in the Green Mountains of Vermont ranged up to 30 inches, and up to 15 inches of snow was reported in the Catskills and Adirondacks of eastern New York State. Totals in eastern Pennsylvania ranged up to 12 inches at Armenia Mountain. The storm resulted in one death and 49 injuries.
So what’s a weather or not person supposed to do — move?
If outside conditions are making you gloomy, you may want to check out some other locales. Here are the 10 Best Weather Cities in the USA according to the 2002 Farmers’ Almanac:
1. Yuma, Ariz.: Driest city in the nation, with only 2.65 inches of rain annually (17 days of rain per year). Number one city for sunshine (90 percent) and third among the least humid cities. But it’s hot in the summer, averaging 100 degrees from June-September.
2. Las Vegas: Second to Yuma in raindrops, with 4.19 inches per year. Also scores high with number of rainy days (26) and possible sunshine (85 percent). Least humid of all the cities. Temperatures in June-August top 100 degrees.
3. Phoenix, Ariz.: Right behind Vegas in annual sunshine and low relative humidity. It gets hot in the summer (a record 122 degrees in June 1990).
4. El Paso, Texas: Abundant sunshine, low relative humidity, little rainfall and mild winters.
5. Reno, Nev.
6. Albuquerque, N.M.
7. Winslow, Ariz.
8. Bishop, Calif.
9. Bakersfield, Ariz.
10. San Diego, Calif.
Where to avoid? Here are the 10 Worst Weather Cities in the USA according to the 2002 Farmers’ Almanac, and the reason:
1. Quillayute, Wash. (rain)
2. Astoria, Ore. (rain)
3. Marquette, Mich. (rain/snow/cold)
4. Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. (rain/snow/cold)
5. Syracuse, N.Y. (clouds/rain/snow)
6. Binghamton, N.Y. (clouds/rain)
7. Elkins, W.V. (clouds/rain)
8. New Orleans (rain/humidity)
9. Eugene, Ore. (clouds/humidity)
10. Hilo, Hawaii (rain)
SNOW WAY! Here are some interesting snow statistics for North America, compiled by the Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Topographic Laboratories:
n Greatest snowfall in 24 hours:
Silver Lake, Colo. April 14-15, 1921:
76 inches (6 feet, 4 inches).
n Greatest snowfall in one storm:
Mount Shasta Ski Bowl, Calif., Feb. 13-19, 1959: 189 inches (15 feet, 9 inches).
n Greatest snowfall in one season:
Mount Baker, Wash., 1998-99:
1,140 inches (95 feet).
Sue Frause can be reached online at skfrause@whidbey.com.
