It was March Madness across the state of Pennsylvania, at least for college basketball, but the weather was a different story. March 2000 was probably the most uneventful and boring months (if you are a weather enthusiast) that could possibly occur.

The first week of March proved to be the start of a drab and uneventful weather pattern. A little rain here, a little sunshine there. Temperatures were a little bit on the warm side with an average of 50 degrees.

The second week of March was yet again a yawn for the folks at observing stations in the commonwealth. Little, if any precipitation fell on parts of Pennsylvania, but temperatures were on the spring-like with highs reaching 74 degrees in Pittsburgh on March 10. And then, the plot thickens...

The third week of March was just as exciting as the previous two. This week, there was more rain and much cooler temperatures. High temperatures averaged around 40 degrees. Just when you thought things could not get any more exciting, they did.

Like an "on the edge of your seat thriller," something big was bound to come up from behind and shock us beyond belief. While weather observers all over the state were dozing off due to the lack of weather activity, a storm came that gave something for meteorologists to talk about, besides whose barometer was the biggest. In fact, this would be the first severe weather event of the calendar year.

The Flood and Snow of March 21st and 22nd gave something for everyone to talk about. The Johnstown, Somerset, and Laurel Mountains area received up to 8 inches of snow. The interesting part about this is that most of the rest of the commonwealth had to deal with flooding conditions.

The much needed rain to start the growing season in Pennsylvania came as sort of a shock to everyone. Drought conditions had dominated until this storm hit and then, flooding conditions came about. No happy medium existed for anyone.

So, to kick off the end of the month, nature decided to take a rest, yet again, and put all interesting weather on hold. Fluctuating temperatures and off and on showers would dominate the weather patttern as the month of April approached.

-Steven Greenberg

Here are the weather extremes across the Commonwealth: