During the drought-monitoring period ending March 19, active weather shifted southward from the central Rockies and lower Midwest. Eventually, significant precipitation fell across much of the southern United States.
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Locally severe thunderstorms were most numerous from the southeastern Plains into the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. Based on preliminary reports, the mid-March outbreak included more than three dozen tornadoes, one of which resulted in three fatalities in western Ohio on March 14.
Meanwhile, the northern Plains and upper Midwest experienced mostly dry weather. Elsewhere, the southern High Plains escaped a short-lived round of windy, dry weather without any significant wildfires, unlike the late February episode. Recovery efforts continued in fire-affected areas, primarily across the Texas Panhandle, but extended to other central and southern Plains areas.
As the drought-monitoring period progressed, record-setting warmth first retreated from the Midwest and Northeast into the Deep South, then appeared in the Northwest.
By March 19, freezes deep into the Southeast threatened a variety of crops, including blooming fruits and winter grains. On that date in Alabama, both Anniston and Tuscaloosa posted daily record lows of 28°F.
The West
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Late-season precipitation in the Southwest contrasted with the arrival of record-setting warmth in the Northwest. The Southwestern precipitation, including high-elevation snow, resulted in some generous reductions in drought coverage, especially in parts of Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. Meanwhile, warmth appeared in the Northwest, where Quillayute, Washington, set a monthly record with a high of 80°F on March 16. Quillayute’s previous record, 79°F, had been set on March 20, 2019.
The High Plains
Generally, minor changes in the drought depiction were observed on the High Plains. Some increases in abnormal dryness (D0) coverage were noted on the Plains from central and southwestern Kansas northward into parts of South Dakota.
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Despite the Plains’ pockets of dryness and drought, prospects for the winter wheat crop remained mostly favorable. On March 17, 55% of the winter wheat in Kansas was rated in good to excellent condition, with only 12% of the crop rated very poor to poor, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Meanwhile, some drought reductions occurred in the Rockies of Colorado and Wyoming.
In Colorado, March 13-15, snowfall totaled 12.9 inches in Colorado Springs. On the 14th, as rain changed to snow, Pueblo, Colorado, experienced its wettest day during March on record, with 1.53 inches (and 2.5 inches of snow). Previously, Pueblo’s wettest day during March had been March 18, 1998, with 1.26 inches. During the mid-month event, numerous 3- to 5-foot snowfall totals were noted in the Colorado Rockies, with Aspen Springs in Gilpin County receiving 61.5 inches.
The South
Pounding rains totaled 2 to 6 inches from southeastern Oklahoma and southern and eastern Texas to the Mississippi Delta. Improvements of up to one category were noted in areas where the heavy rain overlapped existing coverage of moderate to severe drought (D1 to D2), including northern Mississippi and western Tennessee.
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El Dorado, Arkansas, in an area not affected by drought, endured its wettest day during March on record, with a daily total of 6.31 inches on the 15th, surpassing the 5.85 inches set on March 28, 1914. Farther west, showers in Oklahoma and Texas were more scattered, with only targeted drought improvements. In fact, abnormal dryness (D0) expanded in parts of western Oklahoma and environs as the effects of recent warmth and windy, dry conditions began to reduce topsoil moisture and adversely affect winter wheat.
On March 17, according to the USDA, topsoil moisture was rated 49% very short to short in Texas, along with 28% in Oklahoma. On the same date, winter wheat was rated 61% good to excellent (and 7% very poor to poor) in Oklahoma and 46% good to excellent (and 19% very poor to poor) in Texas. — UNL Drought Monitor
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