National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

With significant snowfall expected at both Rochester and La Crosse, a natural question is "how rare are these events?" The climate data suggests not very rare at all. In fact, you could even consider it somewhat common.

Below are some March snowfall climate statistics for both La Crosse and Rochester. Note the appreciable number of 1-day and 2-day snowfall records that have occurred in March.

La Crosse

THE IMPENDING WINTER STORM IS EXPECTED TO BRING 9 TO 13 INCHES OF
HEAVY SNOW TO PORTIONS OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY MONDAY
AND TUESDAY. THE INFORMATION BELOW LOOKS AT THE RARITY OF MARCH
HEAVY SNOW EVENTS AT THE LA CROSSE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT. AS IT
TURNS OUT...SOME OF THE GREATEST SNOW EVENTS HAVE OCCURRED IN MARCH.

...ALL-TIME 1-DAY SNOW RECORDS...

THE 14.3" THAT FELL ON MARCH 13 1997 IS THE 4TH GREATEST 1-DAY
SNOWFALL RECORD. 25 PERCENT OF THE TOP 25 1-DAY SNOW RECORDS HAVE
OCCURRED IN MARCH.

...ALL-TIME 2-DAY SNOW RECORDS...

THE 18.5" THAT FELL MARCH 5-6 1959 IS THE GREATEST 2-DAY SNOWFALL ON
RECORD. 28 PERCENT OF THE TOP 25 2-DAY SNOW RECORDS HAVE OCCURRED IN
MARCH.

...SIGNIFICANT MARCH SNOW FREQUENCY...

SINCE 1896...10" OR MORE IN 1 DAY HAVE FALLEN IN MARCH 5 TIMES. THE
LAST TWO OCCURRENCES WERE MARCH 18 2005 (13.9") AND MARCH 13 1997
(14.3")

...ADDITIONAL MARCH SNOWFALL RECORD AND CLIMATE INFORMATION...

...1-DAY SNOW RECORDS...

MARCH 4...............7.5" (1962)
MARCH 5..............13.1" (1959)

...1-DAY MARCH SNOW RECORDS...

14.3"................MARCH 13 1997
13.9"................MARCH 18 2005
13.1"................MARCH 5 1959
12.1"................MARCH 9 1909
10.8"................MARCH 19 1933
9.8".................MARCH 28 1931

...2-DAY MARCH SNOW RECORDS...

18.5"................MARCH 5-6 1959
15.2"................MARCH 12-13 1997
14.7"................MARCH 18-19 2005
14.2"................MARCH 8-9 1909

THE CURRENT FORECAST OF 10.5" MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY WOULD BE THE
12TH GREATEST 2-DAY MARCH SNOW.

Rochester

THE IMPENDING WINTER STORM IS EXPECTED TO BRING 9 TO 13 INCHES OF
HEAVY SNOW TO PORTIONS OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY MONDAY
AND TUESDAY. THE INFORMATION BELOW LOOKS AT THE RARITY OF MARCH
HEAVY SNOW EVENTS AT THE ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. AS IT
TURNS OUT...SOME OF THE GREATEST SNOW EVENTS HAVE OCCURRED IN MARCH.

...ALL-TIME 1-DAY SNOW RECORDS...

THE 19.8" THAT FELL ON MARCH 18 2005 IS THE GREATEST 1-DAY SNOWFALL
ON RECORD. 40 PERCENT OF THE TOP 25 1-DAY SNOW RECORDS HAVE OCCURRED
IN MARCH.

...ALL-TIME 2-DAY SNOW RECORDS...

THE 20.1" THAT FELL MARCH 18-19 2005 IS THE GREATEST 2-DAY SNOWFALL
ON RECORD. 16 PERCENT OF THE TOP 25 2-DAY SNOW RECORDS HAVE
OCCURRED IN MARCH.

...SIGNIFICANT MARCH SNOW FREQUENCY...

SINCE 1908...10" OR MORE IN 1 DAY HAVE FALLEN IN MARCH 7 TIMES.
THE LAST TWO OCCURRENCES WERE MARCH 18 2005 (19.8") AND MARCH 13
1997 (10.5").

...ADDITIONAL MARCH SNOWFALL RECORD AND CLIMATE INFORMATION...

...1-DAY SNOW RECORDS...

MARCH 4...............5.4" (1984)
MARCH 5...............4.2" (1963)

...1-DAY MARCH SNOW RECORDS...

19.8".................MARCH 18 2005
14.0".................MARCH 30 1934
10.8".................MARCH 10 1956
10.5".................MARCH 13 1997
10.2".................MARCH 22 1952
10.0".................MARCH 19 1933 AND MARCH 10 1909

...2-DAY MARCH SNOW RECORDS...

20.1".................MARCH 18-19 2005
16.0".................MARCH 29-30 1934
12.6".................MARCH 13-14 1997

THE CURRENT FORECAST OF 12.5" MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY WOULD BE THE
4TH GREATEST 2-DAY MARCH SNOW.