News Photo by Steve Schulwitz A truck spread salt onto the roadway on Wednesday after a system of snowfall rolled through Alpena. In March, Alpena received less snow than the long-term average.

ALPENA — Although this March will always be known for the historic ice storm, there were many days when it was warmer than normal.

The total snowfall last month was also well below the long-term average, which has been the case for most of the winter.

The lowest recorded temperature was 7 degrees on March 1, but rose sharply to a high of 72 degrees on March 15, according to the National Weather Service.

Nearly all the snow left over from February’s storm had melted by that date.

The next day, temperatures dropped and 1.3 inches of snow fell to the ground, leaving Alpena wondering whether the warm temperatures of the day before had simply been a dream.

While temperatures waffled throughout the month, the average temperature overall was 4.5 degrees warmer than the long-term average of 29.3 degrees, resting at 33.8 degrees.

Precipitation levels were significantly higher this March than the long-term average at 4.07 inches compared to 1.81 inches. However, the levels of precipitation did not improve drought conditions in Alpena.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, drought intensity in most of the county is at D2, which is categorized as a severe drought. Alcona County is also experiencing a severe drought. The Drought Monitor updates its drought level every Thursday.

In just one day, on March 29, the day of the historic ice storm, Alpena received a quarter of the total precipitation for the month at 1.06 inches, and the rain, snow, and freezing drizzle has continued in the early days of April.

March 30 and 31 have not yet been recorded by the National Weather Service, so the 4.07 figure could potentially increase. Harold Dippman, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Gaylord, concurred.

Dippman said there were more warm days last month than cold, for this time of year and ended the month easily above the average.

“March brought well above normal temperatures,” Dippman said.

The warm temperatures were caused by systems tracking well to the west, he said. An overwhelming majority of days after March 3 were between 10 to 15 degrees above the average temperature.

Like March, April is another one of those months where dramatic temperature swings occur, Dippman said.

Dippman predicts that the beginning of the month will be cooler than usual. A disturbance expected from the north will bring cooler temperatures early next week, but temperatures may reach the 50s later that week.

That’s good news for the lineworkers who are trying to restore electricity to more than 10,000 homes and businesses that remain without power after the severe ice storm.

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com.