Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

County Rainfall Above Normal

Weatherwise, March definitely roared in like a lion, but it didn't end like a lamb, as the saying goes.

Actually, the month ended 0.21 of an inch above normal in rainfall. The normal amount of rain for March is 5.25 inches, but this year, 5.46 fell.

This puts the area up 3.81 inches for the year. According to local meteorologist John Teeter, by this time of the year, Nevada County has received 13.28 inches of moisture. So far, however, 17.09 inches have fallen.

In fact, it rained 14 days during the month, with the largest single day's amount being 1.44 inches on March 13.

According to Davis Benton, a retired weatherman in Cale, rain fell in the southern part of the county 14 days as well, but only three days during the last two weeks of the month.

He said the Cale area received 4.99 inches during the month, and has recorded 16.92 inches for the year. This, he said, is about five inches above normal.

Interestingly, Teeter said, there were only three weather watches or warnings in March. Normally, there are five.

However, one was a doozy. It involved the month's major weather event, the tornado on March 1.

Teeter said this twister was the 18th recorded in the county since 1915 and the worst since the Rosston and Upchurch-Lackland tornadoes of the 1970s.

"The March 1 storm should increase everyone's attention to weather services watches and warnings," Teeter said. "Serious storms can happen."

The average temperature for the month was 59.6 degrees, or 3.8 degrees above the normal of 55.8.

There were only three days when the mercury hit or dipped below the freezing mark.

March 1997, Teeter said, was warmer and wetter than usual.