Any hopes for (or dread of) any significant snowfall rest on March weather known for its unpredictability.
Baltimore hasn't seen significant snowfall in the first month of spring since 2009, when a storm blanketed the region with 7 inches. Here is the map of snow totals from that event.
But the region has posted at least a trace of snowfall every year on record except for six. A trace is what we've gotten in March for the past two years.
Here are the top five months of March for snowfall on record for Baltimore:
- March 1892 -- 25.6 inches
- March 1941 -- 22.2 inches
- March 1960 -- 21.6 inches
- March 1891 -- 20.5 inches
- March 1943 -- 14.7 inches
- March 1937 -- 14.3 inches
- March 1896 -- 13.8 inches
- March 1934 -- 13.8 inches
- March 1958 -- 13.7 inches
- March 1962 -- 13.6 inches
It's No. 10 on that list that is of particular interest right now, and one of the few that folks may have memory of -- the "Ash Wednesday Storm" of 1962. The storm's 50th anniversary is Monday.
The storm was considered one of the most intense "nor'easters" of the 1900s, with 70 mph winds and nearly 2 feet of snow in some parts, causing $200 million in property damage (in 1962 dollars), according to reports at the time.
Sun staffers are planning to commemorate the anniversary online and in print and we are seeking reader input. Please email me any memories you or loved ones might have at sdance@baltsun.com or leave a comment on the blog.
As for the prognosis of snow in March 2012, it appears unlikely temperatures will allow it. The National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center is expecting above-average temperatures in its one- and three-month outlooks, said Howard Silverman, a senior forecaster with the weather service in Sterling, Va.