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March weather wet early, dry late Los Alamos, White Rock

March started out with a bang, weather-wise, and ended with a whimper in Los Alamos and White Rock. Early precipitation in March soon gave way to warm and dry conditions as the month progressed.

The warmer than normal temperatures also rapidly melted snows that accumulated from February and early March, according to Scot Johnson, a Laboratory meteorologist in Meteorology and Air Quality (RRES-MAQ).

"The precipitation, mostly occurring during the first week of March, amounted to about two-thirds of normal in Los Alamos and slightly above normal in White Rock," said Johnson, noting that the 9.4 inches of snow in Los Alamos last month brought the season-to-date total to 60.5 inches. The average snowfall for the season is 56.3 inches (from 1971-2003), he said.

Los Alamos and White Rock had higher maximum average temperatures in March: White Rock's mean maximum daily temperature of 62 degrees Fahrenheit was 6 F above normal, for example.

Johnson said Los Alamos' mean maximum temperature in March was 56 degrees Fahrenheit, or 5 F greater than normal. The mean and mean minimum temperatures also were above normal for the month in Los Alamos and White Rock.

Several temperature records were established in Los Alamos in March, attesting to the warmth. On March 19, the temperature topped out at 71 F, breaking the old record of 67 F for the day, set in 1941. The next day, a 72 F temperature also set a record, as did the overnight temperature of 42 F, which was a record for the highest minimum temperature, Johnson said. High temperature marks also were established on March 22 and 25, he added.

White Rock also had high temperature records set on March 19, 20, 22 and 25. March 20 was particularly warm, with a high of 78 F, breaking the old mark of 76 F established in 1997, Johnson said.

New high minimum temperature records also were established on March 21 and 25 (47 F) in White Rock.

In Los Alamos last month, .85 inches of precipitation was recorded at the Technical Area 6 measuring station, or about two-thirds of the normal (1.28 inches) for the month.

To the east in White Rock, 1.08 inches of precipitation was recorded at the official measuring station at the corner of Pajarito Road and NM 4 in March, or about 23 percent above the norm (.88) for the month.

Johnson said the three-month forecast for April through June calls for higher than normal temperatures and lower than normal precipitation in the area.

Wind gusts topping 40 miles per hour were recorded in Los Alamos on March 5 and 26. A 47-mile-per-hour wind gust was recorded March 25 in White Rock. The number of days in March during which gusts can be expected to exceed 40 mph is 2.1 in Los Alamos and 2.0 in White Rock. Winds in March as measured by average wind speed and average maximum daily gust speed were about normal in both Los Alamos and White Rock.

More information about weather in the region can be found at http://weather.lanl.gov online.

-- Steve Sandoval

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