March Rainfall Level Sets New Record

Pretty safe to say, next month, next year, and for quite a few years down the road, when you say to someone, "Man, remember all that rain we got that one March a while back? MAN, did it rain!", if the person you're asking lived here, they'll remember. I remember the morning after the first big downpour staring at Gary McCoy in disbelief as he described  rescuing a young man he encountered on his drive in to work,  who was trapped on the roof of his car . I remember the Planet Fitness Traffic Hotline ringing one long, plaintive ring for hours as calls flooded in and backed up. I remember realizing this wasn't an ordinary storm, that I was in the middle of something that was far beyond the norm. And it was. And now it's official.

Both Shreveport and Monroe broke records for the recorded amount of rainfall for March, and it wasn't even close. Shreveport received 12.8 inches of rain in March, breaking a record that has stood since 1945. But compared to Monroe, we weren't even trying. Monroe received 24.4 inches of rain. But what just makes your eyes glaze over as you contemplate it is this: SIXTEEN POINT FOUR EIGHT (16.48) inches of it fell on March 8th and March 9th alone! Jason Hansford of the National Weather Service in Shreveport says rainfall like that probably will not occur again in our lifetimes, adding 'Keep in mind though too that typically our wettest months in Northern Louisiana are April, May, and June, so we still have the wettest period of the year to go."  Ending news conferences with such cheery and confidence inspiring thoughts are one reason no one ever calls Jason- 'Sunny, The Weatherman'.