Monthly Climatological Summary
Norman 3SE, Cleveland Co., OK (Lat 35^10'57"N, Lon 97^25'27"W, elev 1130)
March 2002
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Temperature Precipitation Snow AM PM
Max Min Water Snow Depth Wx Wx
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01 48.2 20.8 .05 T T -DZ +PL FZRA SN FG
02 23.7 13.6 .45 2.0 1 +TSSN PL -SN BLSN
03 32.0 8.6 .00 0.0 T SKC SKC
04 55.9 14.2 .00 0.0 0 SKC SKC
05 60.3 31.6 .00 0.0 0 SKC SCT
06 67.5 42.8 .00 0.0 0 BKN FEW
07 74.5 39.9 .00 0.0 0 FG BKN
08 68.4 35.1 .22 T 0 OVC +TSRA GR
09 45.5 24.8 .00 0.0 0 SKC SKC
10 55.2 23.2 .00 0.0 0 BKN SCT
11 65.1 40.8 .00 0.0 0 BKN SCT
12 65.5 36.0 .00 0.0 0 BKN BKN
13 77.9 44.8 .00 0.0 0 BKN FEW
14 84.4 49.3 .00 0.0 0 BKN FEW
15 50.7 39.0 .00 0.0 0 OVC OVC
16 56.1 34.7 .00 0.0 0 OVC OVC
17 66.2 44.1 .00 0.0 0 OVC OVC
18 56.8 46.4 .80 0.0 0 RA -RA
19 54.9 46.9 .99 0.0 0 +RA FG -RA
20 60.3 38.8 .00 0.0 0 OVC SKC
21 41.4 27.9 .00 0.0 0 BKN FU
22 44.1 22.6 .00 0.0 0 BKN BKN
23 63.7 30.0 .00 0.0 0 BKN FEW
24 77.0 41.4 .00 0.0 0 BKN TS
25 41.5 32.5 T 0.0 0 -SHRA OVC
26 53.2 27.1 .00 0.0 0 SKC BKN
27 66.6 34.3 .00 0.0 0 BKN SCT
28 76.6 50.4 .00 0.0 0 BKN BKN
29 71.8 54.5 .00 0.0 0 BKN BKN
30 58.8 48.0 .14 0.0 0 RA OVC
31 68.9 41.7 .00 0.0 0 SKC SKC
KEY TO AM/PM WX: SKC - sky clear, FEW - few clouds, SCT -
partly cloudy, BKN - mostly cloudy, OVC - overcast, RA -
rain, SHRA - rain shower, FZRA - freezing rain, PL - ice
pellets, SN - snow, GR - hail, TS - thunderstorm, TSRA -
thunderstorm with rain, TSSN - thunderstorm with snow,
BLSN - blowing snow, FG - fog, FU - smoke, DZ - drizzle.
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Means and Totals for March 2002
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Average Maximum Temperature: 59.1
Average Minimum Temperature: 35.0
Mean Temperature: 47.1
Maximum Temperature: 84.4 (3-14-02)
Minimum Temperature: 8.6 (3-03-02)
Days with max temperature 90.0F+: 0 Year: 0
Days with max temperature <32.0F: 2 Year: 4
Days with min temperature <32.0F: 13 Year: 46
Days with min temperature <0.0F: 0 Year: 0
Precipitation: 2.65 Year: 6.17
Greatest one-day precipitation: .99 (3-19-02)
Snowfall: 2.0 Year: 2.4
Greatest one-day snowfall: 2.0 (3-02-02)
Maximum snow depth at midnight: 1 (3-02-02)
Days with measureable pcpn: 6 Year: 18
Days with pcpn 1.00"+: 0 Year: 1
Days with measureable snowfall: 1 Year: 3
Days with snowfall 1"+: 1 Year: 1
Days with glaze ice: 2 Year: 2
Days with damaging wind: 2 Year: 2
Days with hail: 1 Year: 1
Days with thunderstorms: 3 Year: 5
Days with fog: 3 Year: 4
NOTICE: All temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit and all precipitation values in inches. Snowfall totals denoted by an asterisk indicate hail.
Summary....March 2002 was cooler than average thanks in part to a seemingly endless parade of Arctic fronts blasted through the area every 3 to 7 days. Several of these fronts were quite intense and brought a drastic change from springlike weather to winterlike weather in just minutes. At 8:30pm on the 1st, the temperature dropped from 42F to 32F in 10 minutes following a frontal passage, then down to 20F by midnight. Freezing rain fell for several hours following the frontal passage on the evening of the 1st, then changed over to sleet at midnight on the 2nd. Sleet and snow fell throughout the early morning hours on the 2nd, with brilliant blue-green flashes of lightning illuminating the sky from 3-4am. Fierce north winds blew the snow around and even spun up some miniature "snownadoes". Our low temperature of 8.6F on the 3rd was our lowest temperature all winter. The frontal passage on the 8th was not as cold, but was even more dramatic. The temperature dropped from 65F to 45F in two minutes following the frontal passage, then down to 35F within 30 minutes. An incredible rise in barometric pressure followed the front (1003 millibars to 1012 millibars in 30 minutes!). Winds gusted to at least 50 mph for over an hour after the front passed, tearing shingles from the roof of my apartment building, ripping a rain gutter from a building at my apartment complex, and uprooting a small tree 1/4 mile north of my apartment. These winds also drove pea to marble sized hail into shallow drifts on the north sides of buildings, and these drifts did not melt completely until 30 hours later. Warm weather during the month was quite brief and fleeting, although we did top 80F on the 14th. Two more intense cold fronts gave the area some unseasonably cold temperatures on the 21st-22nd and the 24th-25th. Most of the month's precipitation came on the 18th-19th.
Turlock CA had 1.58 inches of rain for the month and is at 10.76 inches for the 2001-02 season. Turlock, as well as other locations in the Central Valley, had its share of interesting weather during the month. On the 1st, strong winds toppled a 110-ft sign in downtown Turlock. A downburst and a tornado hit Lockeford on the 7th, with winds measured at 108 mph. A much weaker downburst produced 44 mph winds at Modesto Airport on the 13th, and hail big enough to dent cars supposedly fell in parts of Turlock that same afternoon. A tornado warning was issued for eastern Solano County on the 17th. A chaser sent me pictures he took of the Solano County storm, which featured a well defined rear flank downdraft (a feature that is commonly seen on tornadic storms on the Great Plains). For the second year in a row another member of my family saw a funnel cloud before I did, as my mom witnessed a funnel cloud between Modesto and Tracy on the 23rd. Last year, my brother witnessed a funnel cloud in Merced County on Apr 7. As someone who looks for tornadoes on purpose, it's always ironic when other members of your family keep seeing them accidentally!