Hoosier Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Thought I would start a thread to get some opinions. From a temperature anomaly perspective, both months are very impressive and standout months historically. The maps give a general idea but here are some site specific comparisons between the two months, using 1981-2010 normals: Chicago Mar 2012: +15.6F Feb 2015: -13.1F Milwaukee Mar 2012: +13.8F Feb 2015: -11.6F Marquette Mar 2012: +15.5F Feb 2015: -13.1F St Louis Mar 2012: +14.8F Feb 2015: -9.6F Indianapolis Mar 2012: +14.4F Feb 2015: -11.9F Louisville Mar 2012: +11.8F Feb 2015: -11.0F Detroit Mar 2012: +13.5F Feb 2015: -14.0F Columbus Mar 2012: +11.9F Feb 2015: -13.5F Cleveland Mar 2012: +13.0F Feb 2015: -16.2F In general, the February 2015 anomalies are larger in the eastern part of the subforum, while the March 2012 anomalies are larger farther west. Would be interesting to calculate standard deviations. There's a couple ways to look at this...the local level and the regional level. On the local level, I have to give the nod to March 2012. Besides the larger anomaly, there was a stretch of 8 out of 9 days with highs of 80+ (peak of 86F). February 2015 didn't have the same level of standout cold here, and our coldest low temperature was "only" -6F. What say you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosier Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 Another metric of comparison, for LAF: # of days with anomaly of +/- 10 or greater, +/- 20 or greater, +/- 30 or greater (only positives for March 2012, only negatives for February 2015) Mar 2012: 21, 11, 5 Feb 2015: 19, 10, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Powerball Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 March 2012 IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitelakeroy Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Numbers wise both were equally impressive IMBY. From a damage (fruit/tree) perspective and out of season perspective the Morch was more impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-L-E-K Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 march by far, we were shattering all-time temp records a month ahead of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Storm Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 March 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxim Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 March 2012 was way more impressive IMO. There was only one April on record that had as many 80 degree days as that March in Chicago. Plus, we broke the previous record for warmest March by 5 degrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclone77 Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Both are impressive, but Morch is hands down the most impressive. Although Feb was very cold, it didn't have as much of an impact relative to the season like March did. It's always cold in Feb, and this was just a more extreme version of that. The exceedingly unusual March in 2012 had a substantial impact on the landscape relative to this past Feb. I've never seen it green up so early, and by late in the month it looked like early to mid May. It was as if we had just skipped a month and a half of season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trent Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Locally that -16.2 departure is insane. Feb 2015 had more record low mins than March 2012 had record high maxes in Cleveland. Hitting -17 in late February is just insane. I have to give the nod to this past February as being more impressive. Had a 90 degree day been thrown into March 2012, then maybe it could be in contention. March 2012 was impressive, but what doesn't make it that memorable is that the weather conditions that most experienced were conditions they were already accustomed to experiencing every late April through September. February 2015 provided prolonged weather conditions that many had never experienced in their lifetimes. For anyone born after 1977, you haven't experienced anything this cold before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCNYILWX Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 February 2015 was very impressive on a regional scale, including several locations with coldest overall month on record. However, similar months have occurred before in the weather records. February 2014 was very cold as well, but centered farther west. March 2012 is the most extreme temperature event on record because it was literally unprecedented for a very large area of the US and Canada. This blog post, http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2057, talked about the standard deviation and period of return of the March 2012 heatwave being up to ~4000 years, which is probably not too far fetched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebo Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 March 2012 easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDude Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Not even close. Don't think we will ever see a March like 2012. Everything was blooming before the month was even over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmc76 Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 March 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosier Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 February 2015 was very impressive on a regional scale, including several locations with coldest overall month on record. However, similar months have occurred before in the weather records. February 2014 was very cold as well, but centered farther west. March 2012 is the most extreme temperature event on record because it was literally unprecedented for a very large area of the US and Canada. This blog post, http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2057, talked about the standard deviation and period of return of the March 2012 heatwave being up to ~4000 years, which is probably not too far fetched. Good point about February 2014...there's an area of overlap that got in on both in terms of extreme anomalies...pretty wild to see it in consecutive Februarys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDude Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I know this is a little off topic but it has to do with weather. You also have to realize that Chicago is probably the best summer city in the US if not the world. Out door roof tops, outside dining, endless festivals, baseball games. Summer is like a giant party here. That's what made March 2012 so significant. I understand that it didn't have much eventful weather, but to be able to enjoy warm weather here in March makes it so much more special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkeye_wx Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 March 2012 was insane. Towns from northern Minnesota to northern New England were annihilating record highs by 30+ degrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormtrackertf Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 March 2012, no contest. This past February was one to remember for sure, so I can't downplay at all the significance of it...but THE "Morch" is quite possibly the most anomalous weather event in recorded history in Michigan. It's up there with the dust bowl heat waves as something I find hard to believe will be repeated in my lifetime, or my kids' lifetime, or their kids' lifetime...for that matter.It was a very rare event where literally everyone alive and old enough to understand the concept of weather was in awe by how amazing it was. I remember on the radio, every other song they'd put on would be summer related because everyone was out partying and having fun like it was summer, during a time of the year where we're almost exclusively seeing snow/slop storms and endless clouds. It was something I am glad to say I was alive to see, because man, was it ever something.One of the biggest memories for me from March 2012 was the day that the Dexter EF-3 Tornado developed out of nowhere. Me and my family were sitting glued to the TV and everyone was just kind of in shock, stuff like this is rare period...but in March? In Michigan? It felt like I was seeing things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyhb Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 March 2012 because it also had a relative abundance of interesting weather (and was just more anomalous in general). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geddyweather Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 March 2012 for sure... It also set a precedent for the rest of year (eg: Record breaking summer heat wave, June 29 derecho, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosier Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 March 2012 because it also had a relative abundance of interesting weather (and was just more anomalous in general). Feb wasn't bad either in terms of activity. Other than the early March storm and a couple other smaller events, March 2012 didn't have much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAFF Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I think the part which strikes me is that every year we all have temperatures seen in Morch just later in the season. Which makes it warm for that time of year but not like having a 14°F positive departure in July where they are just completely off the charts for the region. The difference to the past Feb is the frequency these cold temperatures were ones many have never experienced period. To me looking at a monthly departure Morch wins hands down. As a rare outbreak where temperatures seldom venture I think i'll give it to Feb 2015. So does any summer heat waves rival the past month in the (+) temperature department ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosier Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 So does any summer heat waves rival the past month in the (+) temperature department ?? In terms of anomalies, probably not. Much harder to get insane positive departures in summer months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbertfly Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Cool convo and thoughts....nice thread hoosier.... february 2015 was an amazing winter month.... march 2012 was an amazing month for anytime of the year.... EDIT: (^^^ in regards to the anomalies you mention) One stat that always stuck out was 8 days at or above 80....before 2012 there had only been 10 days total with a temp over 80 in March in Chicago.... so many records shattered daily all over the place..... morch is the most impressive to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormtrackertf Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Cool convo and thoughts....nice thread hoosier.... february 2015 was an amazing winter month.... march 2012 was an amazing month for anytime of the year.... EDIT: (^^^ in regards to the anomalies you mention) One stat that always stuck out was 8 days at or above 80....before 2012 there had only been 10 days total with a temp over 80 in March in Chicago.... so many records shattered daily all over the place..... morch is the most impressive to me Wow. That's kind of like, at Detroit, the string of 70+ degree days in Morch 2012 is not only a record for the month of March, but it has never been done even in April. It would have been a record for APRIL, let alone March. And we obliterated the all-time March high temperature by so much, we were only 1 degree off of the all-time record high for April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierwx Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 March 2012. Today is the anniversary of the Henryville tornados, incredible outbreak for this early in the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-L-E-K Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 landslide Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewers Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Have to go with March 2012. The entire region was setting monthly records. Feb 2015 was impressive be mostly for the Central and Eastern Great Lakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukrocks Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 March 2012 no questions asked. It looked like early June by the end of that month. Unbelievable warmth and the pollen was an absolute nightmare. It literally rained pollen everyday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonger Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Numbers wise, Feb was slightly more extreme. In 15 years I have hit double digit negative lows about a dozen times and 6 of them came in one month. I beat last years low on 3 different nights. March was more of a shocker, considering we had a high temp 45 degrees above normal... February had a daily high that was 30 degrees below normal. February was just more consistent than March 2012, there was only 2 day with a positive departure in February, but March had several days below normal in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonger Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 There's a couple ways to look at this...the local level and the regional level. On the local level, I have to give the nod to March 2012. Besides the larger anomaly, there was a stretch of 8 out of 9 days with highs of 80+ (peak of 86F). February 2015 didn't have the same level of standout cold here, and our coldest low temperature was "only" -6F. What say you? Holy crap, only -6F? Was that because of the snowhole? I hit double digit lows 6 times! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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