[Sun 3/1/26 – Tue 3/31/26, rural Central Oregon High Desert – moderately dry]
Overall, precipitation this month was lower than normal at this site.  Precipitation totaled 0.85” over the period, starting with 0.36” in the first 2 days (Mar. 1 & 2) and ending with 0.29” the last 2 days of the period.  The few other events presented either traces or less than 1/10” rain per day.  Except for the first 2-day event, which created areas of standing water at this site, the rain came mostly in the form of a drizzle that did little more than dampen the surface of the terrain.  This month’s snow was limited to 2 events: (1) on Mar. 4, snow mixed in rain (no accumulation) mid-morning and mid-afternoon, becoming all snow  that accumulated to 0.10” before it melted by sundown; (2) on the 10th, a trace of graupel barely covered the ground mid-afternoon and was gone within an hour.  The standing water at the first of the month dried up quickly with sunny warm weather.  Within a week, the terrain and surface soils without groundcover or shade became dry and dusty, with little or no sign of dampness in the top 2 inches.  The last 2 days’ rain (ending 3/31) served to wet the soil just enough to eliminate the dust.  
Daily high and low temps were generally well above normal, a seeming continuation from Jan and Feb this year.  The average low temp this month was 25°F within a range of 6° (3/27) to 41°F (3/25, only 2 days earlier!).  The average high temp was 59°F and ranged between 38° and 76°F.  Humidity dropped into the teens several times during the last half of the month.  
March 27 was “one for the books.”  The month’s lowest and highest temps occurred the same day.  The 70°F difference between those 2 readings is a 23-year [time lived at this site] record.  Outdoor humidity dropped to its lowest point of the month at 10% that same day.  Finally, at dusk, this site became engulfed in smoke which (upon checking for the source) was moving over a half mile area of the neighborhood.  It had a faint smell of barbecue in it (from which I guessed that a flame may have jumped the cooking site, but must have been put out before becoming a problem), and, thankfully, it dissipated within ½ an hour.  Nevertheless, it was quite alarming on several levels.  Concerns of wildfire potential were already becoming front and center, nearly 2 months ahead of usual.  Two wildfires were reported in mid-March in Central Oregon – one about 10 miles north of this station.  News reports already began warning of wildfire risk mid-month as being due to unseasonably dry conditions and record high temps.