Wunderground.com-4/15/13, Dr. Jeff Masters

Wunderground.com-4/11/13, Christopher C. Burt

March was notable for unseasonable cold weather in Europe and record heat in parts of Africa and Australia. Heavy snowstorms struck the U.K., northern France, eastern Europe, Russia and the central U.S. and northeast. The world temperature extremes for both cold and heat came within 0.5°C (0.9°F) of reaching their respective March all-time records (from -75.6°C/-104.1°F) in Antarctica to South Africa (47.3°C/117.2°F).

Below are some of the month’s highlights.

NORTH AMERICA

Several significant snowstorms impacted the central and eastern portions of the U.S. during March. A slow moving and large low-pressure system raked the east coast on March 6-8 bringing high winds and a flooding storm surge to coastal Massachusetts. Wind gusts of 40 mph+ persisted for three consecutive days on Nantucket Island while heavy snow fell inland with a top accumulation of 29.8” (75.7 cm) storm total measured at Walpole. On March 24-25 heavy snow buried St. Louis, Missouri with a 12.7” (32.3 cm) accumulation, the city’s 7th greatest snowstorm on record. A bit further east, Springfield, Illinois picked up 18.5” (47.7 cm), its all-time greatest snowfall since records for such were established there in 1881.

Wunderground.com-4/10/13, Dr. Jeff Masters

Wunderground.com- 3/29/13, Angela Fritz

Satellite image of the large fracture in Arctic sea ice in the Beaufort Sea (north of Alaska). Image from NASA, acquired February 23, 2013.

New images of 2013's Arctic sea ice mega-fracture have been posted on NASA's website. Sea ice fractures are not uncommon, though, according to NASA, the extent of this one is. Two things have combined this year to create the mega-fracture:

1) Arctic sea ice is not what it used to be. It is becoming thin and fragile, whereas thick, multi-year ice (ice that is around for many years and is much more stable) has declined. Arctic sea ice extent has plummeted since 1979, and reached an all-time low in September 2012. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, through 2013, February sea ice extent has declined at a rate of 2.9% per decade compared to the long-term average. This represents an overall reduction of more than 606,000 square miles from 1979 to 2013, which is equivalent to more than twice the area of the state of Texas. Scientific consensus points to global warming from fossil fuel emissions as the culprit of the Arctic's decline.

Wunderground.com- 4/1/13, Becky Oslin

In a jumbled layer of pebbles and shells called the "Dog's Breakfast deposit" lies evidence of a massive tsunami, one of two that transformed New Zealand's Maori people in the 15th century.

After the killer wave destroyed food resources and coastal settlements, sweeping societal changes emerged, including the building of fortified hill forts and a shift toward a warrior culture.

For more on this story please see Wunderground.com.