January and February 2015 certainly kept all of us in the Northeast on our toes as Mother Nature bombarded us for over 6 weeks with non-stop winter storms. Heading into March and the first month of climatological spring, the exceptionally busy pattern held strong and Old Man Winter hit us with numerous storms including one of the biggest of the season for New Jersey and Pennsylvania! While we did enjoy the first breath of spring during the mid portion of the month, March did not end as a lamb and left many a fresh coating of snow during the final days of the month. Beside snow, folks from Baltimore to Boston endured impressive record cold temperatures with some experiencing the chilliest March temperatures in nearly 50 years! Let's dive into the details.
Right off the bat, a series of snow and ice events pounded the Northeast from March 1st – 5th. The first of the three events was a coastal storm on March 1st that produced moderate to heavy snow bands across New England and the Hudson Valley but brought the Mid-Atlantic a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain. A swath of 3 to 6 inches covered areas from New York City to southern New Hampshire while up to a quarter inch of ice accreted on top of 1 to 3 inches of snow in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.
Without much of a breather, back-to-back storms hit from the 3rd to the 5th. After a widespread wintry mix event on the 3rd left behind a general 1 to 3 inches of snow and up to a tenth of an inch of ice, a significant winter storm clobbered folks from the Nation's Capital to the Big Apple on the 5th in one of the largest snow events of the season. As a surge of Gulf moisture combined with a potent arctic front, initial rain late on the 4th mixed and changed over to heavy, wet snow on the 5th. The wet snow fell throughout the day with rates up to 1 inch per hour at times. The storm ended up dumping 6 to 11 inches across the Mid-Atlantic with southern Pennsylvania and northern Maryland finishing out the big winners. A very tight snow gradient took shape across northern New Jersey and Pennsylvania with some spots measuring an 8 inch difference across as little as 25 miles!
Once the snow ended, arctic air poured into the Northeast and temperatures crashed to record lows overnight into the 6th and 7th. Nearly everyone from Boston, MA to Dulles, VA plummeted into the low teens and single digits which broke or tied numerous daily records. In fact, Allentown, PA not only recorded its latest 0 degree reading since 1967 on March 7th, but it also ranks as the second coldest March temperature of all time! Baltimore residents woke up to their third coldest March temperature of all-time at 6 degrees and the chilly 11 degrees at Philadelphia International was the coldest since 1993!
Spring-like days finally took shape during the second week of the month with just a few rain showers. The jump in temperatures into the 40s and 50s gave way to substantial snow melt which led to areas of roadway and small river flooding. See our satellite images below to see the drastic snow melt.
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However, Old Man Winter was not quite finished with us and winter returned for the third week of the month. A clipper system on March 15th marked an impressive feat for Boston, MA. Logan Airport measured 2.9 inches which added to the season to date total of 105.7 inches was enough to call the 2014 – 2015 winter its all-time snowiest at 108.6 inches! Up until this point, the 1995 – 1996 winter held strong to that title with its incredible record of 107.6 inches. Of course, more was in store for Boston, MA and the city would continue to smash the 1995 – 1996 record.
After a mild and wet St. Patrick’s Day, temperatures cooled across the Northeast just in time for us to welcome spring with a snow storm on the 20th. This time around, a coastal storm overspread the Northeast with snow which included a few heavy snow bands before ending as patchy freezing drizzle. While most finished between 2 and 6 inches, southern Connecticut through parts of Monmouth and Ocean County, NJ took top honors with 6 – 8 inches. Heading into the final days of the month, the Northeast saw a slew of minor wintry events.
After mainly quiet yet cool days from the 21st to 25th, temperatures spiked into the 50s and 60s on the 26th ahead of a cold front. This front brought in periods of steady rain and thunderstorms overnight into the morning of the 27th but as it exited, temperatures dropped quickly and areas of New England changed over to wet snow. Places from Worcester, MA through Boston, MA saw 0.5 to 2 inches of snow which only added to the already historic seasonal totals. Before we ended the month, an impressive clipper system on the 31st left another white swath of 0.5 to 2 inches across northern New Jersey and the Hudson Valley.
As a whole, March followed suit with the first two months of 2015 finishing both with record cold and snow. Nearly all the major cities along I-95 ranked the month among the top 10 coldest on record as it finished 4 – 6 degree colder than normal.
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In the snow department, folks from Philadelphia to New York City had their highest monthly snowfall of the 2014 – 2015 winter season in March and also ranked this March among their top 10 snowiest. Even Central Park in New York City which has been keeping weather records for over 120 years ranks March 2015 6th snowiest of all-time! Also, the additional late March snow events allowed Boston, MA to end March with an astounding season to date total of 110.6 inches! See the table below to learn just how anomalously snowy the month ended up.
