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Southwest Lower Michigan Weather History
The Weather History for the Month of March
- 3/1/1882
- March comes in like a lamb with high temperatures in the 60s. Lansing hits 64 degrees, and goes on to reach 66 degrees the next day. This continued the warmth from the previous month, which was the warmest February on record at Lansing.
- 3/1/1962
- Bitterly cold weather begins the month with morning lows below zero and high temperatures only around 10 degrees.
- 3/2/2002
- A strong low pressure center moves across the Ohio Valley bringing record snows to Lower Michigan. Grand Rapids has 13. 9 inches and Muskegon 10.5 inches, both set records for their snowiest March day on record.
- 3/3/1943
- Arctic air dominates the first ten days of the month. Record cold temperatures this morning include the 10 below zero at Muskegon and the 9 below at Grand Rapids.
- 3/3/1983
- Record highs are set across Lower Michigan with Grand Rapids hitting 72 degrees and Muskegon 69 degrees. The first week of March is incredibly balmy with six straight days of high temperatures of 60 or above at Grand Rapids.
- 3/4/1912
- Subzero cold continues during one of the coldest months of March on record across Lower Michigan. Muskegon sets a record low of 2 below zero on this morning, during a spell of five straight days below zero.
- 3/5/1948
- Arctic high pressure dominates the first half of the month of March with record lows this morning of 8 below zero at Grand Rapids and 5 below at Muskegon.
- 3/5/1976
- Thunderstorms move over cold air near the ground to produce one of the worst ice storms in history across Wisconsin and Lower Michigan. From 2 to 5 inches of ice builds up on trees and power lines, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people without power, some for as long as ten days.
- 3/6/1956
- Severe thunderstorms moved across Lower Michigan ahead of a strong cold front. A tornado destroyed five barns and unroofed homes in North Blendon and Bauer in Ottawa County.
- 3/7/1908
- After heavy snow in February, heavy rains and warmer conditions set in, setting the stage for a disastrous flood. The Kalamazoo River flooded the town of Albion when the Homer Dam broke around 3 p.m. By midnight, the bridges surrounding town were underwater. Six buildings in Albion collapsed.
- 3/7/1999
- Arctic air and several inches of fresh snow on the ground combine to drop temperatures to a record low of 13 below zero at Lansing.
- 3/7/2000
- Temperatures reach the 70s during a record early season warm spell. Grand Rapids hits 72 degrees and Lansing 74 degrees.
- 3/8/1943
- Grand Rapids plummets to 13 below zero, the coldest ever recorded in March there. This caps a very cold period during the first ten days of the month, where four days had lows at or below zero at Grand Rapids.
- 3/8/2000
- Temperatures soar into the upper 70s across Lower Michigan, with some places hitting 80 degrees. The 78 degrees at Grand Rapids is a record high for the date and for so early in the season.
- 3/9/1996
- Record subzero cold grips Lower Michigan with Grand Rapids and Lansing falling to 7 below zero and Muskegon hitting 6 below.
- 3/9/1998
- Arctic air plunges across the Great Lakes after one of the warmest winters on record. The above normal water temperatures contribute to heavy lake effect snow squalls that produce blizzard conditions. From 8 to 12 inches of snow is piled into deep drifts by winds gusting over 40 mph.
- 3/10/1901
- An ice storm across southwest Lower Michigan caused thousands of dollars in damage, and paralyzed telephone, telegraph, news wires and railroads. Streams were swollen as rain fell onto frozen ground, resulting in many washouts and accidents. Similar conditions were also reported for St. Joseph, Grand Haven, Ionia, Coldwater and Kalamazoo.
- 3/10/1993
- A snowstorm drops 6 to 8 inches of snow across southwest Lower Michigan. Record daily snowfall includes 6.2 inches at Grand Rapids and 6.4 inches at Muskegon.
- 3/11/1948
- Arctic air prevails with high temperatures in the teens and low temperatures near zero. Muskegon sets a record low of 2 degrees.
- 3/12/1976
- A tornado outbreak struck from Michigan to Alabama. At least four tornadoes hit Michigan with nine people injured. Two tornadoes hit Jackson County, with damage to several homes and businesses. One person was injured in Ottawa County as a tornado moved from north of Holland to north of Hudsonville.
- 3/13/1990
- A spell of record warm weather continues across Lower Michigan with temperatures in the 70s. Lansing hits 74 degrees during a string of four straight days in the 70s.
- 3/13/1993
- The Superstorm of 1993 dumps three to four feet of snow across the Appalachians and draws down record cold arctic air across Lower Michigan. High temperatures struggle to reach the lower 20s with gusty winds making it feel even colder.
- 3/14/1904
- A snowstorm drops up to a foot of snow across Lower Michigan with record daily snowfall of 10.5 inches at Grand Rapids, 10 inches at Lansing and 8.0 inches at Muskegon. This snow would contribute to some of the worst floods on record in southwest Lower Michigan when it melts off during the last week of the month.
- 3/15/1912
- Cold and snow continue during a very wintry month. Lansing sets a daily snowfall record with 11.5 inches and Grand Rapids with 5.2 inches. Lansing falls to one degree below zero the next morning.
- 3/15/1990
- Four days of record warmth culminates with highs of 77 degrees at Lansing, 75 at Grand Rapids and 72 at Muskegon.
- 3/16/1945
- The warmest March on record in southwest Lower Michigan produces record high temperatures in the 70s.
- 3/17/1943
- Heavy rains and melting snow result in flooding across southwest Lower Michigan. Childsdale Dam on the Rogue River gave way. Several families were evacuated from Comstock Park near Grand Rapids.
- 3/17/1973
- A record snowstorm dumps over a foot of snow across southern Lower Michigan. Jackson is buried under 19 inches of snow and Lansing has a record 16.5 inches.
- 3/18/1925
- The Tri-State Tornado kills 695 people and injures over 2,000 along its 219 mile-long damage path through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. It is by far the worst tornado in United States history. The weather in Lower Michigan is relatively tranquil with highs in the 50s and rain changing to snow during the night.
- 3/19/1885
- Lansing falls to 11 below zero during a string of eight straight days with low temperatures below zero. It is the coldest March on record there.
- 3/20/1976
- A tornado outbreak strikes from Michigan to Mississippi. In Michigan, two people are killed, one each in Oakland and Macomb Counties.
- 3/21/1983
- Spring starts on a snowy note with record daily snowfall of 6 to 8 inches from Muskegon to Lansing.
- 3/22/1938
- Temperatures soar into the 80s during one of the warmest March days in Lower Michigan. Grand Rapids ties their record high for the month at 82 degrees and Lansing sets a record for the date of 81 degrees.
- 3/23/1956
- A snowstorm drops from 6 to 10 inches across southwest Lower Michigan. Jackson picks up 10 inches of snow and Grand Rapids a record 8.4 inches
- 3/24/1901
- A tornado killed one person and injured four others in Kalamazoo County as it moved from Vicksburg to Scott.
- 3/24/1904
- Tornadoes hit Muskegon and Grand Rapids. In Muskegon, five homes were unroofed or torn apart on the lake front at Harrison Street. In Grand Rapids, ten people were injured as the tornado damaged a church and several barns.
- 3/25/1954
- Heavy rain and high winds occur as a cold front moves through. Grand Rapids measures 2.82 inches of rain for their wettest March day on record. Flooding of streams is widespread and winds gusting over 70 mph causes roof damage and uproots trees.
- 3/25/1974
- Grand Rapids falls to one below zero for its latest subzero reading on record.
- 3/26/1934
- A record snowstorm began across southeast Lower Michigan with around a foot of snow falling at Jackson, Lansing and Battle Creek. Snow totals dropped off quickly to the northwest with Grand Rapids getting only about an inch.
- 3/26/1993
- Dense fog caused a fatal airplane crash at Ludington. The pilot was trying to land in near zero visibility and collided with trees and terrain on his second approach to the airport. The pilot was seriously injured and his wife, the only passenger, was killed.
- 3/27/1991
- A tornado outbreak hits the Midwest, wreaking havoc from Iowa to Ohio. In Michigan, at least seven tornadoes strike. Eighteen people were injured in Calhoun County as eight homes were destroyed there.
- 3/28/1904
- Heavy rain and temperatures in the 50s during the last week of March combined with the melting of a deep snowpack to cause some of the worst flooding on record along the Grand and Kalamazoo Rivers. About half the city of Grand Rapids is underwater as the river reaches an all-time record crest of 19.6 feet, which was 2 feet higher than the previous record and 4.6 feet above flood stage. Water covered half of the city and flood waters reached 2,500 houses and 14,000 people. Many people suffered from hunger and exposure. Several factories and between 200 and 300 business were flooded. Loses totaled $1,800,000. Lansing has the worst flood in 135 years of record. Battle Creek is also inundated by floodwaters.
- 3/28/1920
- One of the worst tornado outbreaks in U.S. history strikes from Wisconsin to Georgia, killing more than 150 people. In Michigan, at least a dozen people were killed and hundreds of homes were either damaged or destroyed. The worst hit areas in Michigan included Saint Johns in Clinton County, Maple Grove and Orangeville in Barry County, and Fenton in Genesee County.
- 3/29/1910
- Temperatures peak in the upper 70s to lower 80s during one of the warmest months of March on record across Lower Michigan. The high of 82 degrees sets a record for the warmest ever recorded in March at Grand Rapids.
- 3/29/1954
- A snowstorm drops from 5 to 10 inches of snow across southern Lower Michigan. Kalamazoo records 8 inches of snow and Grand Rapids a record 7.5 inches.
- 3/30/1977
- A tornado struck four miles north of Hart in Oceana County, injuring three people as it destroyed four trailers and damaged a business
- 3/31/1923
- March goes out like a cold lion with record lows in the single numbers and lake effect snow showers.
- 3/31/2006
- A tornado hits a few miles east of Jackson, taking down hundreds of trees and causing minor structural damage in the town of Leoni.
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