For the second straight month temperatures were well above normal and precipitation was well below normal. The warmer and drier than normal events, coupled with windy conditions have created a very high fire risk across much of the state which will only become potentially more concerning as we move on through April and early May.

The average daily high during March was 62.2, which was 6.5 degrees above
normal. The average daily low was 39.7 which was 7.8 degrees above
normal. This gave us a monthly mean temperature of 51 degrees, 7.2
degrees above normal. This made March 2016 the third warmest March on
record. The warmest March on record was in 2012 when we had a monthly
mean temperature of 57.5. The second warmest March was 2007 with a
monthly mean temperature of 52.1 degrees. The coldest March on record
was during the very snowy winter of 1960. The monthly mean temperature
that March was a chilly 31.3 degrees. The highest temperature during the
month was 79 degrees on the 30th. The lowest temperature in March was 26
on the the morning of the 24th. There were several temperature records set
during March. The high of 75 on the 7th broke the old record for that date of
73. The old record was set in 1992 and tied in 2000. Three overnight low
temperature readings set new records for high low temperatures. 52 on the
5th broke the old record of 49 set in 1956; 61 on the 6th broke the old record
of 58 in 2006 and the low of 59 on the 22nd broke the old record of 59 set in
1994. Based on past years of record warm February readings, an unusually
warm March was expected. However, in past years like this, April often
returned to normal with no direct correlation to average, above or below
normal temperatures the rest of the spring and summer.

With warmer weather March usually brings us more precipitation as we move
out of the dry winter months, and head towards our wet season in late spring
and summer. Such was not the case this year however. Long term average
March precipitation is 2.34 inches including 3.1 inches of snow. We managed
one measurable snowfall event of less than an inch, 0.8 inches, bringing our
season to date snowfall total to 7.4 inches, less than half of our normal. Total
liquid precipitation for the month was 0.57 inches at Milford Lake and 0.60
inches in Junction City. Year to date precipitation at Milford Lake is 1.73
inches and in Junction City 1.80 inches. Normal through the end of March is
4.11 inches meaning that for the first three months of the year we are at
about 43% of normal. The driest March on record was in 1966 and 1968
when no measurable precipitation fell. The wettest March was in 1974 when
8.04 inches of precipitation deluged the region. While additional snowfall can
not be ruled out in April, it is unlikely that we will see additional significant
precipitation meaning we will have ended our second winter in a row with
less than half of normal snowfall.

April normally brings us an increase in rainfall as we experience those April
showers. Average April rainfall is 2.95 inches. Given the past two months
weather patterns it is hard to know what temperatures will do in April but we
would expect that daily highs would increase from 62 on April Fool´s Day to
72 by the month´s end. Night time lows range from 37 on the first to 48 on
the 30th.  If the trend continues we might even start flirting with record daily
highs which would often mean temperatures in the high 80s or low 90s, but
hopefully we won´t be seeing that just yet!

Chuck Otte
County Extension Agent, Ag & Natural Resources
Geary County Extension Office, PO BOX 28