Weather Eye: Our weather gets an early jump on March madness

That was quite a strong cold front that moved through the local area Monday afternoon. When the front passed through some areas it had heavy hail and blustery winds. Snow started falling in the higher elevations; however clearing moved in from the west after the front.

At this writing it appeared that the moisture available with the coldest air overnight Monday into early Tuesday would be limited so there was only a small chance of any short-lived snow here at city levels.

Forecast charts show higher pressure moving in on Wednesday for rapid warming after a chilly overnight period. Highs near 60 degrees plus or minus are on tap Thursday and Friday before maybe another shot of rain.

Officially, Vancouver ended up the month of February with an average mean temperature of 43.6 degrees compared to the normal of 43.5 degrees. How is that for closeness? The precipitation totaled 2.92 inches, well below the average of 4.03 inches. Nothing really exciting to write home about.

Temperatures around Western Washington in February were just about right on average everywhere. Precipitation was normal or above to the north, running below average in Southwest Washington. At least we didn’t have to contend with any devastating flooding or crippling snowstorms.

At least we improved on the snowpack in the Cascades with 126 percent of normal on March 1 to 102 percent of normal in the southern Washington Cascades.

My thinking about our March weather is that it will be a bit of March madness for sure. Another roller coaster ride, with chilly one day and mild the next. So get ready to roll your sleeves up and keep the warm jacket handy.

Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at http://weathersystems.com.