NOAA has released their climate summary for the US for March 2015.  The maps below show that while the west continued its record-setting warm conditions, the eastern US was split between areas that were slightly above normal (including the Southeast) where it was dry and below normal temperatures where it was wet.  March was the 12th warmest for the lower 48 states since records began in 1895.

The band of heaviest rainfall was very persistent and was located in a band stretching from southern Texas northeast all the way to New Jersey.  The band curved around the Southeast, missing most of the region and leading to a March that was tied for the 19th driest since records began.  The dry conditions in Alabama and Georgia contributed to an increase in abnormally dry conditions across the region.

march 2015 divisional temp  march 2015 divisional precip

 

The long-term March precipitation graph below shows that this March was the driest in the Southeast since 2007.

march 2015 precip trend

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