...1896... The temperature in downtown San Francisco, California fell to 33 degrees, which was the lowest ever for the city in March.

...1942... A wind gust of 56 miles per hour was recorded at Newport, Rhode Island, breaking the record of 48 miles per hour set in 1930.  Asheville, North Carolina had a record breaking snowfall when 15.8 inches fell in 24 hours.

...1947... The barometric pressure fell to 28.72 inches, setting the record low for the date, the previous low pressure was 28.97 set in 1942.  Vermont and northwestern Massachusetts had their biggest snowstorm in this century when Readsboro, in southern Vermont, received 50 inches in 3 days, and Peru, in northwestern Massachusetts, received 47 inches in 3 days.

...1950... At Newport, Rhode Island the low temperature dipped to 5 degrees, breaking the record of 11 degrees set in 1925. The wind chill was 20 degrees below zero and the dew point was 16 degrees below zero.

...1960... 5.3 inches of snow fell at Newport, Rhode Island, breaking the record of 4.2 inches set back in 1917.

...1966... A tornado hit Jackson MS killing 54 persons.

...1971... An extremely intense coastal storm blasted the northeastern U.S. on this day and continued into the 4th. The barometric pressure dropped to 28.36 inches at Worcester, Massachusetts for the lowest pressure ever recorded at the location. The same record was set at Concord, New Hampshire with a reading of 28.44 inches.  Wind gusts 70 to 100 mph lashed eastern New England with major wind damage occurring. Tides ran 4 to 5 feet above normal resulting in extensive coastal damage and beach erosion. Snow amounts exceeded 35 inches in the Adirondacks in northeastern New York and up to 27 inches of snow fell in northern Vermont.

...1980... A coastal storm produced 25 inches of snow at Elizabeth City NC, and 30 inches at Cape Hatteras NC. At Miami FL the mercury dipped to 32 degrees.

...1983... The last of a series of storms to strike the California coast finally came to an end. Waves fifteen to twenty feet high pounded the coast for two days, and in a four day period up to 18 inches of rain drenched the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara area. On the morning of the first, thunderstorms spawned two tornadoes which moved through the Los Angeles area.

...1987... A storm brought heavy rain and gale force winds to Washington and Oregon. Quillayute WA received 2.67 inches of rain in 24 hours, and winds gusted to 60 mph at Astoria OR.

...1988... A small but intense low pressure system roared across west central Mississippi at 90 mph early in the morning. A tornado in southern Mississippi picked up an automobile, carried it 150 feet, and tossed it through the brick wall of an unoccupied retirement home.

...1989... Wintry weather prevailed from the southern Rockies to the Upper Great Lakes. Neguanee MI received 19 inches of snow, and up to 24 inches of snow blanketed Colorado. Blizzard conditions were reported in Minnesota.

...1990... An upper level weather disturbance produced snow in the Colorado Rockies, with eight inches reported at Winter Park, and a storm moving off the Pacific Ocean began to spread rain and snow across the western U.S. March continued to start off "like a lamb" elsewhere around the country.

...1991... Freezing rain commenced over central and northwestern New York state late on this day and by the time it ended on the 4th, one to two inches of ice had accumulated in many places, resulting in the most costly natural disaster in the history of New York State. 19 counties were declared state disaster areas. At one point, nearly 325,000 customers were without power and some did not get power back until the 16th. Storm damage exceeded 375 million dollars.

...1994... A major coastal storm was in progress over the Mid Atlantic and the Northeast. Winds gusts hit 75 mph at Dover, Delaware. Big snows buried interior sections. Two day snowfall totals 33 inches at Burdett, New York, 30 inches at Frankfort Center, New York, 29 inches at Loganton, Pennsylvania, 26 inches at Jay Peak, Vermont, and 22 inches at Frostburg, Maryland. The 8.7 inches of snow at Allentown, Pennsylvania raised its seasonal snowfall to 69.2 inches for its snowiest winter ever. Boston's 8 inches pushed its seasonal snow to 89.5 inches for its snowiest winter as well up to this time.

...2003... It was a day of temperature extremes. Miami reached a high temperature of 90 degrees, the earliest observed 90 degree temperature since March 5, 1964. Meanwhile Marquette, MI, dropped to 30 degrees below zero, the lowest temperature ever recorded in the city in March.