John Wheeler: Today's date presents an illustration of March weather extremes

FARGO — March 23 is an interesting day in the Fargo-Moorhead weather record book. With records dating to 1881, there are two versions of this particular date that stand out. In 1910, it was 80 degrees. This remains the only 80 degree day in March in the history of Fargo-Moorhead. The spring of 1910 was extraordinarily warm and dry and with the drought lasting well into summer, it was a year of many crop failures.

From the opposite end of things, March 23, 1974, remains the latest day in the year on record with a subzero high temperature. The year 1974 was one of those years in which spring seemed to never show. Following a week of cold days and a fresh 2-inch snowfall on March 22, the next day delivered a low of 11 degrees below zero and a high of 1 below. These are two extreme illustrations of how variable our weather can be in March.

John Wheeler is Chief Meteorologist for WDAY, a position he has had since May of 1985. Wheeler grew up in the South, in Louisiana and Alabama, and cites his family’s move to the Midwest as important to developing his fascination with weather and climate. Wheeler lived in Wisconsin and Iowa as a teenager. He attended Iowa State University and achieved a B.S. degree in Meteorology in 1984. Wheeler worked about a year at WOI-TV in central Iowa before moving to Fargo and WDAY..