At the same time, the powerhouse storm in the central United States became the country’s second billion-dollar weather disaster of 2019. The active weather March pattern — spurred by a jet stream diving south into the Lower 48 from Canada — kept temperatures on the chilly side in the Lower 48. (NOAA)Despite the bomb cyclone and all of the flooding in March, precipitation was somewhat below normal averaged over the entire Lower 48. Thanks to this wet start, just 6 percent of the Lower 48 is in drought, “one of the smallest contiguous U.S. drought footprints on record,” NOAA reported. (karstenhaustein.com)The Lower 48 was one of just a few cold locations in the Northern Hemisphere during March.

Source: Washington Post April 10, 2019 16:06 UTC