Thursday March 14th another snow event brought heavy snow and dropped a quick 1-2" Were up to the 5th snowiest March in recorded history at Rochester. Quick warm up and sunshine after the snow helped aid in Tulips sprouting!

Heavy snow during the morning hours of March 14th

A quick moving clipper system and warm front brought a brief burst of heavy snow for mostly the central and northeastern parts of the area. The snow lasted for about an hour or two Thursday morning. Snow from this clipper was compact on radar but was very intense. It dropped a quick 1-2" in a about an hours time. The snow was so heavy here in Rochester I could not see the hospital 2 blocks away which is the 1st time I've had that happen. This snow causes numerous car accidents area wide because of the slippery and visibility restricting nature of the snow.

5th snowiest March in recorded history at Rochester International

NWS La Crosse has announced with the snow Thursday we are now in 5th place  for the snowiest March in recorded history at the Rochester Airport 20.30" have fallen at the airport. This compared to my station which is 7 miles north and several feet lower in elevation compared to the airport 18.25" of snow has fallen this month. If the airport were to see a few more inches before the end of the month we could easily be put in 2nd or 3rd place for the snowiest March on record.

Snow Reports

Winona 2.0"
West Downtown Rochester ( my station) 2.0"
Preston 1.90"
Nerstrand 1.30"
Mantorville 1.50"
Austin 0.30"  

 Sunny backyard view March 14th 2013

What a quick turn around! by 11am the snow ended and eventually by the afternoon hours the clouds cleared and we broke into brilliant sunshine with temperatures in the the mid to upper 30s with low 40s in city protected areas. All of the newly accumulated snow from the morning hours melted with our very strong mid march sun if felt great to finally see some warm sunshine.

 Tulips sprouting March 14th 2013

This brings a little hope to winter weary residents. Even with the very few days of sunshine we have had this month the snow has melted away from the southern foundation garden which has allowed the tulips to sprout! Also sprouting in this garden are Daffodils and Crocuses. To help explain how this is possible this garden is located next to the southern foundation of the garage where the sun heats up this area and melts snow and warms the soil much quicker then in other areas of the yard. Since I knew this would be the case I made use of this effect and planted early flowering bulbs so that I would get to enjoy spring a little earlier! Now if we can get some extended sunshine in place for more then a day or two, I would see blooms from crocus in about a week or two.