The snowstorm of March 5 to 8, 2018

The Regional Snowfall Index is NOAA’s ranking of snowstorms east of the Rockies by how much snow fell, over how wide an area and on how many people, region by region: the area and the population above four snowfall thresholds set for each region, weighted against that region’s own history. A storm is scored in each region it reached, on a scale from 1, notable, to 5, extreme.

Events

541

Deaths

4

Injuries

9

Damage

$1.8 million

Episodes

71

Every winter weather episode the Weather Service filed east of the Rockies in these dates. A few may belong to another system on the same days. Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

• Winter Storm in Montana, March 4, 20184 eventsAn upper-level shortwave trough moved from the Pacific Northwest and northern California to central Montana and western Wyoming from the early evening of March 3rd through late evening of March 4th.
• Winter Storm in Minnesota, March 4 to 6, 201836 eventsA late Winter storm developed across the Rockies Sunday night, March 4th, and moved out into the Plains by Monday morning. This storm continued to intensify Monday, with bands of heavy snow wrapping around the center of the storm system through Monday evening.
• Blizzard and Heavy Snow in North Dakota, March 5 to 6, 201835 eventsA deep low pressure system lifted across the Northern Plains into the upper Midwest while an inverted surface trough passed over North Dakota. Widespread snow developed over the region, with the heaviest snow noted over the southern James River Valley.
• Heavy Snow in Minnesota, March 5 to 6, 20187 eventsAn extremely slow moving storm system with multiple periods of snow affected portions of east-central Minnesota. The first batch of snow that fell over the region began on the afternoon of the 4th.
• Winter Storm in Wisconsin, March 5, 20182 eventsA late Winter storm developed across the Rockies Sunday night, March 4th, and moved out into the Plains by Monday morning.
• Heavy Snow in South Dakota, March 5 to 6, 201813 eventsAn intense surface low pressure area brought scattered showers and thunderstorms along with heavy snow to much of north central and northeast South Dakota from the 5th to the 6th.
• Winter Storm in Iowa, March 5, 20181 eventA small part of northeast Iowa was covered with 4 to 6 inches of snow on March 5th. In addition to the snow, wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph created near white-out conditions at times with lots of blowing and drifting snow. Most schools in the area were closed on the 5th and the 6th.
• Winter Storm in Minnesota, March 5 to 6, 20181 injured · $20,000 · 6 eventsSoutheast Minnesota was covered with 4 to 8 inches of snow on March 5th. In addition to the snow, wind gusts of 35 to 60 mph created near white-out conditions at times with lots of blowing and drifting snow.
• Blizzard in South Dakota, March 5 to 6, 201813 eventsAn intense surface low pressure area brought scattered showers and thunderstorms along with heavy snow to much of central and north central South Dakota from the 5th to the 6th. There were some instances of thundersnow reported.
• Winter Storm in Minnesota, March 5, 201820 eventsSurface low pressure tracked out of Colorado on Sunday, March 4th, deepened over southwest Minnesota by the evening of Monday, March 5th, before finally sliding off to the east.
• Winter Storm in North Dakota, March 5, 201818 eventsSurface low pressure tracked out of Colorado on Sunday, March 4th, deepened over southwest Minnesota by the evening of Monday, March 5th, before finally sliding off to the east.
• Winter Storm in South Dakota, March 5 to 6, 20184 eventsAn intense negative tilt upper-level trough pushed out across the Rockies and into the Plains on March 5, deepening into a very strong closed low across Iowa by early on March 6. 500 hPa heights fell as much as 27 dam in 24 hours as the system deepened.
• Heavy Snow in Minnesota, March 5 to 6, 20182 eventsAn intense surface low pressure area brought scattered showers and thunderstorms along with heavy snow to west central Minnesota from the 5th to the 6th.
• Winter Weather in Minnesota, March 5 to 6, 20186 eventsAn intense negative tilt upper-level trough pushed out across the Rockies and into the Plains on March 5, deepening into a very strong closed low across Iowa by early on March 6. 500 hPa heights fell as much as 27 dam in 24 hours as the system deepened.
• Winter Weather in South Dakota, March 5 to 6, 20184 eventsAn intense negative tilt upper-level trough pushed out across the Rockies and into the Plains on March 5, deepening into a very strong closed low across Iowa by early on March 6. 500 hPa heights fell as much as 27 dam in 24 hours as the system deepened.
• Blizzard in South Dakota, March 5 to 6, 201816 eventsAn intense negative tilt upper-level trough pushed out across the Rockies and into the Plains on March 5, deepening into a very strong closed low across Iowa by early on March 6. 500 hPa heights fell as much as 27 dam in 24 hours as the system deepened.
• Winter Storm in Minnesota, March 5 to 6, 20182 eventsAn intense negative tilt upper-level trough pushed out across the Rockies and into the Plains on March 5, deepening into a very strong closed low across Iowa by early on March 6. 500 hPa heights fell as much as 27 dam in 24 hours as the system deepened.
• Winter Weather in Nebraska, March 5 to 6, 20181 eventAn intense negative tilt upper-level trough pushed out across the Rockies and into the Plains on March 5, deepening into a very strong closed low across Iowa by early on March 6. 500 hPa heights fell as much as 27 dam in 24 hours as the system deepened.
• Winter Weather in Iowa, March 5 to 6, 201811 eventsAn intense negative tilt upper-level trough pushed out across the Rockies and into the Plains on March 5, deepening into a very strong closed low across Iowa by early on March 6. 500 hPa heights fell as much as 27 dam in 24 hours as the system deepened.
• Winter Storm in Wisconsin, March 5 to 6, 20185 eventsParts of western Wisconsin were covered with 3 to 8 inches of snow on March 5th. In addition to the snow, wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph created near white-out conditions at times with lots of blowing and drifting snow.
• Blizzard in South Dakota, March 5 to 6, 20189 eventsA strong low pressure system brought snow and very gusty winds from northwestern to south central South Dakota.
• Winter Weather in Wisconsin, March 5 to 6, 201820 eventsA strong low pressure area brought several hours of moderate to heavy snow to southern WI. Several inches of snow accumulated. Roads became snow covered and wind gusts in the 30 mph range aided in very low visibilities. Many schools over south central WI were delayed 2 hours.
• Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, March 5 to 6, 20184 eventsA band of snow developed over northwest Wisconsin in the evening and it kept snowing until the next morning. The heaviest snow fell across southern Douglas County, and across Burnett, Washburn and Sawyer counties. Snow amounts ranged from 6 to 12 inches.
• Heavy Snow and High Wind in Nebraska, March 5 to 6, 201851 kt wind · 6 eventsA low pressure system moved out of Colorado across east central Nebraska and produced snow and strong winds across northeast Nebraska. This created blowing snow conditions | and whiteout conditions across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.
• Winter Weather in Iowa, March 5 to 6, 20183 eventsA low pressure system moved out of Colorado across east central Nebraska and produced snow and strong winds across northeast Nebraska. This created blowing snow conditions | and whiteout conditions across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.
• Blizzard in Nebraska, March 5 to 6, 20181 eventAn intense negative tilt upper-level trough pushed out across the Rockies and into the Plains on March 5, deepening into a very strong closed low across Iowa by early on March 6. 500 hPa heights fell as much as 27 dam in 24 hours as the system deepened.
• Winter Storm and Lightning Strikes in New Jersey, March 6 to 8, 20181 injured · $2,000 · 22 eventsA broad area of low pressure extending from the Ohio Valley to the Piedmont of South Carolina consolidated off the Virginia Capes during the early morning of March 7th.
• Heavy Snow in Michigan, March 6, 20181 eventA slow-moving and occluded low pressure system in Iowa spread snow into northern Michigan on the 6th. In most places accumulations were light, but some pockets of heavier snowfall occurred.
• Winter Weather in Michigan, March 6 to 7, 20184 eventsA low pressure system deepening near Green Bay produced moderate lake enhanced snow over portions of west and north central Upper Michigan from the afternoon of the 6th into the morning of the 7th.
• Winter Storm in Pennsylvania, March 6 to 7, 201813 eventsA broad area of low pressure extending from the Ohio Valley to the Piedmont of South Carolina consolidated off the Virginia Capes during the early morning of March 7th.
• Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, March 6 to 7, 20183 eventsLow pressure tracked from the Ohio Valley during the evening of the 6th to off the New Jersey coast while intensifying by the morning of the 7th. The area of low pressure tracked well offshore by the evening of the 7th.
• Heavy Snow in New York, March 6 to 7, 20181 eventLow pressure tracked from the Ohio Valley during the evening of the 6th to off the New Jersey coast while intensifying by the morning of the 7th. The area of low pressure tracked well offshore by the evening of the 7th.
• Winter Weather in Maryland, March 6 to 7, 20185 eventsCoastal low pressure developed of the Mid-Atlantic Coast. A period of snow developed over eastern and northeastern Maryland before the low intensified and moved off to the north and east.
• Heavy Snow in Michigan, March 6 to 8, 20185 eventsA large slow moving low pressure system produced occasional bursts of snow over southeast Michigan between March 6th - March 8th.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Maryland, March 6 to 7, 20182 eventsA broad area of low pressure extending from the Ohio Valley to the Piedmont of South Carolina consolidated off the Virginia Capes during the early morning of March 7th.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Delaware, March 6 to 7, 20182 eventsA broad area of low pressure extending from the Ohio Valley to the Piedmont of South Carolina consolidated off the Virginia Capes during the early morning of March 7th.
• Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in New York, March 7 to 8, 20181 death · 16 eventsA strong low pressure system developed along the Middle Atlantic coast during the morning of Wednesday, March 7, 2018. The low tracked along the coast through the early morning hours on Thursday, March 8, 2018.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in New York, March 7 to 8, 201827 eventsA weakening low pressure system brought some light snow to eastern New York during the early to mid-morning hours of March 7th, 2018.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Connecticut, March 7 to 8, 20188 eventsA strong low pressure system developed along the Middle Atlantic coast during the morning of Wednesday, March 7, 2018. The low tracked along the coast through the early morning hours on Thursday, March 8, 2018.
• Winter Storm in Alaska, March 6 to 8, 20182 eventsA weak low tracked ESE across the northern gulf into the eastern gulf. Warm moist air overrunning cold air at the surface caused measurable snow to much of the northern and central Panhandle. Amounts were highly variable. No damage was reported.
• Winter Weather in Tennessee, March 7, 20182 eventsA clipper system brought light snow to northern parts of the Cumberland Plateau during the early morning hours on March 7. Up to one half inch of snow was measured.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in New Jersey, March 7, 20189 eventsA strong low pressure system developed along the Middle Atlantic coast during the morning of Wednesday, March 7, 2018. The low tracked along the coast through the early morning hours on Thursday, March 8, 2018.
• Winter Storm in Connecticut, March 7 to 8, 20182 eventsA weakening low pressure system brought some light snow to northwestern Connecticut during the early to mid-morning hours of March 7th, 2018.
• Winter Storm in Massachusetts, March 7 to 8, 20182 eventsA weakening low pressure system brought some light snow to western Massachusetts during the early to mid-morning hours of March 7th, 2018.
• Winter Storm and Coastal Flood in Massachusetts, March 7 to 8, 2018$207,000 · 19 eventsA coastal storm moved up from the Carolinas, bringing snow and rain to Southern New England on March 7th and 8th. This was primarily a snow event, but with 1 to 3 inches of rain falling on Southeast Massachusetts.
• Winter Storm in Connecticut, March 7 to 8, 2018$47,000 · 3 eventsA coastal storm moved up from the Carolinas, bringing snow and rain to Southern New England on March 7th and 8th. This was primarily a snow event for Connecticut.
• Winter Weather in North Carolina, March 7, 20188 eventsA moist northwest flow developing in the wake of a cold front resulted in snow shower development near the Tennessee border throughout the morning of the 7th. Snow showers were somewhat scattered and accumulations were largely dependent upon terrain exposure and elevation.
• Winter Storm in Vermont, March 7 to 8, 20183 eventsA weakening low pressure system brought some light snow to southern Vermont during the early to mid-morning hours of March 7th, 2018.
• Heavy Snow in Michigan, March 7, 20183 eventsA slow-moving upper low over upper Michigan would spread snow back into northern Michigan on the 7th. The heaviest amounts fell over northeast lower Michigan, with Ossineke, Alpena, and Rogers City all picking up six to eight inches of snow.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Vermont, March 7 to 9, 2018$165,000 · 16 eventsA coastal low developed off the Mid-Atlantic coast by the morning of March 7th and moved into the Gulf of Maine on March 8th, then closed and filled with the upper level low across New England. snow began by midday on March 7th and lingered with mountain snow showers on the 9th.
• Winter Weather in New York, March 7 to 9, 2018$30,000 · 9 eventsA coastal low developed off the Mid-Atlantic coast by the morning of March 7th and moved into the Gulf of Maine on March 8th, then closed and filled with the upper level low across New England. snow began by midday on March 7th and lingered with mountain snow showers on the 9th.
• Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, March 7 to 8, 201815 eventsAn area of low pressure over the Southeast U.S. on the morning of the 6th moved offshore and began to intensify during the day as it moved slowly northeast to the Virginia Capes by the morning of the 7th.
• Heavy Snow in Maine, March 7 to 8, 201817 eventsAn area of low pressure over the Southeast U.S. on the morning of the 6th moved offshore and began to intensify during the day as it moved slowly northeast to the Virginia Capes by the morning of the 7th.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Rhode Island, March 7 to 8, 2018$6,000 · 3 eventsA coastal storm moved up from the Carolinas, bringing snow and rain to Southern New England on March 7th and 8th. This was primarily a snow event in Northwest Rhode Island, but with 1 to 3 inches of rain falling on Central and Southern Rhode Island.
• Heavy Snow in Alaska, March 7 to 9, 20182 eventsA low pressure system in the Aleutians brought an occluded front through the Alaska Peninsula and Bristol Bay. This combined with cold air over the mainland from a previous high pressure system caused heavy snow to fall in the Bristol Bay region.
• Winter Storm in Maine, March 7 to 9, 201815 eventsIntensifying low pressure tracked to the Gulf of Maine during the early morning hours of the 8th. The low then lifted across the region through the 8th into the early morning hours of the 9th.
• Winter Weather in Ohio, March 7 to 8, 20183 deaths · 13 eventsAn upper level disturbance brought light snow to the region during the overnight hours of Wednesday, March 7th through the early morning of March 8th. Significant travel issues occurred as some snow squalls created treacherous driving conditions across the region.
• Winter Weather in Indiana, March 7 to 8, 20183 eventsAn upper level disturbance brought light snow to the region during the overnight hours of Wednesday, March 7th through the early morning of March 8th. Significant travel issues occurred as some snow squalls created treacherous driving conditions across the region.
• Winter Weather in Tennessee, March 8, 201810 eventsAnother clipper system just one day after a previous one brought more light snow to the Upper Cumberland and parts of northern Middle Tennessee. Up to 1 inch of snow was measured in some areas.
• Lake-Effect Snow in Ohio, March 8 to 9, 2018$550,000 · 4 eventsAn area of low pressure moved across the Upper Ohio Valley early on March 7th. The low quickly shifted off the East Coast and the slowly drifted east on the 8th.
• Heavy Snow in Washington, March 8 to 9, 20181 eventHeavy snow fell at Mt. Baker.
• Lake-Effect Snow in Pennsylvania, March 8 to 9, 2018$250,000 · 3 eventsAn area of low pressure moved across the Upper Ohio Valley early on March 7th. The low quickly shifted off the East Coast and the slowly drifted east on the 8th.
• Winter Weather in West Virginia, March 8, 20187 injured · $500,000 · 1 eventAn upper level disturbance kicked off a round of snow squalls during the afternoon of the 8th. In general, these were quick moving squalls that produced brief visibility less than one mile and a quick coating of snow.
• Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, March 8 to 9, 20186 eventsUpper low pivoting across the Upper Ohio Valley brought a period of snow showers to the region late on the 8th through the morning of the 9th.
• Heavy Snow in West Virginia, March 8 to 9, 20182 eventsUpper low pivoting across the Upper Ohio Valley brought a period of snow showers to the region late on the 8th through the morning of the 9th.
• Heavy Snow in Maryland, March 8 to 9, 20181 eventUpper low pivoting across the Upper Ohio Valley brought a period of snow showers to the region late on the 8th through the morning of the 9th.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in West Virginia, March 8 to 9, 20183 eventsCold and moist air moving over the mountains led to a period of snow along and west of the Allegheny Front.
• Winter Weather in Virginia, March 8 to 9, 20181 eventCold and moist air moving over the mountains led to a period of snow along and west of the Allegheny Front.
• Winter Weather in Maryland, March 8 to 9, 20181 eventCold and moist air moving over the mountains led to a period of snow along and west of the Allegheny Front.
• Heavy Snow in Alaska, March 9 to 10, 20181 eventA low pressure system moved up the east side of the Kenai Peninsula and into the Prince William Sound. This produced heavy snow across the eastern Kenai Peninsula. Strong winds enhanced by channeled terrain through Portage Valley caused near blizzard conditions in that area.
• Winter Storm in New York, March 9 to 10, 20183 eventsA Noreaster tracked up the New England coast from March 7-9, 2018, bringing a long period of moderate snow across the eastern portions of the area. Upslope flow behind the system that enhanced amounts in the Chautauqua Ridge and Boston Hills toward the end of the period.

The snowstorm of March 1 to 3, 2018The snowstorm of March 11 to 15, 2018Snow nowEvery winter storm filed

NOAA NCEI Regional Snowfall Index, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.