ACON - VA/NC/SC
The Atlantic Coast Observer Network: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina

FRANKLIN HANCOCK RETIRES FROM ACON

Franklin writes: "Dear Bill...Due to my age and health I will be unable to report to you anymore.  I have enjoyed working with you and I hope the very best of everything.  Best wishes!! Franklin H."

For as long as I can remember, Franklin has been a integral member of our ACON VA/NC/SC database group, not skipping a beat in the 5 years I've handled the monthly summaries.  However, the time has come for Franklin to step aside.  On behalf of the membership, Franklin, thank you for your steadfast reporting over the years.  Your work is greatly appreciated not only by us but also by the professionals in the three state area who have come to rely on your data.  God speed and enjoy those South Carolina sunsets.

NOTES FROM "AROUND THE LEAGUE"

Virginia:

Annandale -  Here are notes from Lowell's monthly summary:  MAR. WAS A RECORD FOR WARMTH BUT NEAR AVERAGE ON THE AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION -THE AVE. MAXIMUM,  MINIMUM & MEAN TEMPS. FOR MAR. WERE ALL 20YR  REC. HIGHS -- THE MEAN TEMP. DEP. WAS +5.9^o  THE PREVIOUS RECORD MEAN TEMPERATURE WAS 48.87 IN 1990 AND THIS MARCH EXCEEDED THE RECORD BY +1.6^o MARCH 8, 2000 THE MAXIMUM TEMP. WAS 84^o  WHICH WAS THE HIGHEST EVER RECORDED HERE FOR SO EARLY IN MARCH.   THERE WERE 8 DAYS THAT THE TEMP. IN MARCH EQUALED OR EXCEEDED 70^o  WHICH HASN'T OCCURRED SINCE 1989.   THE HIGHEST MIN. TEMP. OF 57^o WAS THE WARMEST SINCE 1991. THE AVE.  GROUND TEMP. SET A NEW RECORD HIGH 47.4^o .  THE 2.02" OF RAIN THAT FELL ON THE 21ST WAS THE MOST IN 24 HRS. IN MARCH SINCE 1995.   THE 17% REL. HUMIDITY ON MARCH 5TH WAS THE LOWEST REL. HUMIDITY REC. IN MARCH SINCE 1995 WHEN IT WAS 16%.   THE 44 MPH WEST WIND ON MARCH 3RD OCCURRED  AT 1915  WAS THE HIGHEST REC. IN MARCH SINCE 1997.

Arlington - NWS WBC reports that Washington's (DCA) mean temp  departure was +4.5^o while precip was 0.81" ABOVE the norm.

Blacksburg/Roanoke/Lynchburg Area - From NWS BCB:  MARCH...LIKE THE REST OF THE WINTER...WAS A NOTABLY WARM AND DRY
MONTH.  MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WERE AROUND 5 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL.  PRECIPITATION WAS BELOW NORMAL ACROSS THE REGION...AS IT WAS FOR THE WHOLE WINTER.  JANUARY WAS THE ONLY EXCEPTION...WITH BOTH TEMPERATURES
AND PRECIPITATION CLOSER TO NORMAL.  DECEMBER AND FEBRUARY...LIKE MARCH...WERE SIGNIFICANTLY WARMER THAN NORMAL...WITH PRECIPITATION SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW NORMAL.  WITH THE EXCEPTION OF JANUARY...THE LAST WINTER OF THE MILLENNIUM WAS EXCEPTIONAL IN ITS SCARCITY OF WINTER WEATHER.  THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT ICE STORMS IN SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA...AND SNOWFALL WAS WELL BELOW NORMAL.  ROANOKE HAD ONLY 6.3 INCHES OF SNOW...WHILE LYNCHBURG HAD 15.4 INCHES...AND BLACKSBURG 19.2...AND VIRTUALLY ALL OF THAT FELL IN JANUARY.

IN BLACKSBURG...MARCH WAS THE SECOND WARMEST ON RECORD.  THE ONLY WARMER MARCH ON RECORD IN BLACKSBURG WAS IN 1977.  IN ADDITION...MARCH WAS ALSO THE 8TH DRIEST ON RECORD.  THE MEAN MONTHLY TEMPERATURE WAS IN BLACKSBURG...
 5.1 DEG ABOVE NORMAL.  TOTAL MONTHLY PRECIPITATION WAS 1.84 INCHES BELOW NORMAL.  RECORDS SET IN MARCH:  NEW RECORD HIGHS FOR THE DATE OF 74 ON THE 7TH...AND 79 ON THE 8TH.

Bridgewater -   The weather for March was uneventful and boring.  We did have 3 hours of snow on the 21st but no accumulation. - notes from Clayton

Centerville - Paul noted with interest that the monthly average high of 61^o  and the average low of 40^o  both occurred on March 29th!  A nice warm front brought 1.97" of rain over a 28 hour period and pushed the lowest daily high temp of 41^o  back to presentable levels a day later which continued for the rest of the month.  Overall the average daily temp was 8.8^o  above the 31.3^o  March nightly averages.
Rainfall was 0.38" in excess of the norm.

Dulles - The monthly mean temp was  4.7^o ABOVE the norm while the rainfall for the month was just ABOVE normal by some 0.18".

Falls Church - Erica writes: "March 2000 was warmer than average and had average rainfall.  On March 8 our temperature soared to 85^o breaking a record at Reagan National Airport (DCA).  We saw no snowfall this month. HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE! Our April 2000 issue of Team WEATHERNET will be on the Web very soon athttp://www.nbc4.comRemember, you will need to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader at Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file."

Fredericksburg - Ken noted chilly mornings and mild afternoons as the rule.

Hampton - Dave reports March temps and precip were above normal.  Station records: max high of 86^o on the 8th; minimum high of 59^o  on the 9th; maximum high of 84^o  on the 9th; minimum high of 54^o  on the 10th; daily rainfall record of 1.70" on the 21st.

Herndon -  Russ announces he's added weather data for his site!  Locate it at:  http://users.erols.com/rtopping/wxstation/wx.htm
A warm and snowless March with record highs on the 8th and 9th of 83.1^o  and 77.4^o .  A record 1.23" fell on the 21st.  The flowers and trees got an early start this year.  Too bad the grass did too!

Lynchburg - From NWS BCB:  NEITHER AVERAGE TEMPERATURES NOR PRECIPITATION MADE THE TOP 10 LIST...BUT TWO NEW RECORD HIGHS WERE SET IN MARCH AT THE LYNCHBURG. THE MONTHLY MEAN TEMPERATURE WAS 3.6 DEG ABOVE NORMAL.  TOTAL MONTHLY PRECIPITATION  WAS 0.96 INCHES BELOW NORMAL.  RECORDS SET IN MARCH:  NEW RECORD HIGHS FOR THE DATE OF 84 ON THE
8TH...AND 79 ON THE 9TH.

Norfolk - From NWS AKQ: The monthly mean temp was  4.3^o ABOVE the norm while rainfall was 1.3" BELOW the norm.  The average wind speed for the month was 10.1 MPH.

Portsmouth - Mean temperature for March was 3.7^o ABOVE the norm while rainfall was only 69% of the norm or -1.32"  Rainfall for the year-to-date was 2.76" BELOW the norm.  As with February, the month was unremarkable.   The monthly station records included:  maximum temperatures of 82^o on the 8th & 81^o on the 9th; maximum minimum temperatures of 58^o on the 9th and  57^o on the 10th and 11th; daily precipitation records of 0.20" on the 12th, 0.53" on the 27th.  Average wind speed was 5.9 MPH from a dominant northerly direction.

Richmond - According to NWS AKQ, the mean temp was  4^o above the norm while the rainfall total was slightly above the norm, some
0.06".  The average monthly wind speed was 9 mph.

Mechanicsville - Glenn noted thunderstorms on the 11th and 17th with sharp lightning and downpours.

Roanoke - Wendell reports warmer and drier weather in March.  The monthly mean temp produced the second warmest March on record or 4.5^o above the norm.  Only March 1977 at 52.7^o  was warmer.  There was snow.  March 6-10th, 5 days, broke all time highs
for each of the days.  Also, March 25 had a max of 79^o , a  new all-time high for that date.

Roanoke - NWS BCB notes:  MARCH WAS THE 8TH WARMEST ON RECORD. MONTHLY MEAN TEMPERATURE WAS 4.9 DEG ABOVE NORMAL.  MONTHLY PRECIPITATION WAS 0.62 INCHES BELOW NORMAL.  RECORDS SET IN MARCH: NEW RECORD HIGHS FOR THE DATE OF 83 ON THE 8TH...AND 78 ON THE 10TH.

Woodstock -  Lauck reports the 84^o on the 9th was the warmest temp for March in his 15 year record while March was the 6th driest in 15 years.

Vienna - Robert sends these notes: March was very warm and precip slight below normal here.  No snow at all was recorded.  The 81^o reading on the 8th was my earliest 80^o + reading in 15 years.  Thunderstorms occurred three times during the month.  The monthly mean temperature of 49.9^o  established a record high average monthly temp for March (in the 15 year database).

North Carolina:

Asheville - From NWS GSP:  AVL's mean temp was 2.5^o  degrees in excess of the norm while precip was 0.81" below norm.  The average wind speed was 6.9 mph.

Brevard -  "March 2000 was warmer and drier than usual. The mean 30 day heating requirement, 423 degree days, compares with an annual averages of 741 and 680 for the past five and ten years respectively while 5.56 inches of rain was recorded compared with five and ten year averages of 7.15 and 6.37 inches. The year-to-date rainfall for the year 2000, 12.34 inches, is almost 2 inches less than the 10 year average of 14.15 inches. Cloud cover averaged 43 percent for March with no clouds observed 10 days and total cloud cover five days, observations taken at 8:00 am, noon and 4:00 pm EST." - Bob

Charlotte - CLT's mean temp was 4.2^o  above normal while precip was 0.84" below the norm. - from NWS GSP

Greenville-Spartanburg - The mean temperature, according to NWS GSP, was 5.3^o ABOVE the norm while total precip was 2.54" BELOW the norm.

Greensboro - The high temperature of 83^o on the 8th broke the daily temperature record of 82^o  set in 1974.  The high of 78^o  on the 10th tied the daily record set in 1974.  The 1.59" of rain that fell on the 16th broke the daily precip record of 1.15" set in 1956. - NWS RAH

Raleigh - Bob reports that March was similar to February with above normal temps and below normal precip.  The only significant weather was the 85^o high on the 8th.  No severe weather was observed during March.   Don't forget to visit: Bob's Central Carolina Weather Page

Raleigh - NWS RDU reports the monthly mean temp was 3^o ABOVE the norm while monthly precip was 1.97" BELOW the norm.
No records were tied or broken this month .

Roxboro - Merriell reports: "No major events occurred this month.  Lots of bright sunny days.  Heavy showers on the 11th and 16th as frontal systems passed.  March was slightly drier and warmer than normal."
Wilmington - The mean temp (according to NWS ILM) was 3.9^o ABOVE normal while monthly precip was 1.27" BELOW the norm.  Record warm lows on the 10th and 11th with 62^o and 63^o respectively.

South Carolina:

Charleston - The trend of above normal maximum temperatures continued in March.  The highs averaged 4.3 degrees above normal, at 72.9^o .  That didn't mean there were some chilly days. On March 13th, the high struggled to 59^o  with cool northwest winds, while it reached only 56^o on the 18th with a biting northeast wind.  This was nothing like March 2, 1980.  Temperatures that date remained below FREEZING, with a high of 26 and a low of 22, both records for the date.  It remained chilly at night on March 3rd and 4th, with record lows of 15 and 21 respectively.  The 15 degrees on March 3, 1980 is also the record low for the month of March in Charleston.  A daily precipitation record was set on the 20th.  A total of 1.83" of rain fell that day, setting a record 24 hour precipitation total for the date.  The previous record was 1.33" set in 1970. - notes from Eleanor

Columbia - NWS CAE reports a monthly mean temp departure of +3.3^o  while total precip was 3.10" below the norm.

Florence - FAA Florence noted a +2.5^o  mean temp departure  while rainfall was 1.25" BELOW  the norm.  A record rainfall was noted on the 20th with 1.31".

Greenville-Spartanburg - The mean temp was  a whopping 4.4^o  in excess of the norm while precip was 1.04" BELOW the norm.  The average wind speed was 7.9 mph. - from NWS GSP

North Myrtle Beach - NWS ILM reports the month's precip was 1.69" BELOW  normal while the mean temp was 3.1^o ABOVE normal.
Record highs on the 8th (81^o ) and on the 26th (79^o ).  A 75^o temp on the 17th tied the record high for that date.

Ruby - Franklin notes for the last time... March was a dry, warm month.

Nearby Cities:

The Tri-cities/Bristol area noted a mean temp 2.1^o ABOVE the norm while precip was in 0.11" BELOW the norm.