NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information
The two satellite-derived animations above show the daily snow cover across the Northern Hemisphere (left map) and North America (right map) throughout March 2006. By clicking on the images, the change in sea-ice extent across parts of the Arctic can be seen through the month as well as several significant snowfall events across the U.S. and Europe, including a significant US central Plains storm on the 17th-20th. Sea-ice was the lowest on record for the Northern Hemisphere for March.
More information on significant winter weather and other hazards can be found on NCDC's Hazards page.
The map to the left depicts percent of average snowpack in the West and Alaska as of April 1st. Despite significant March snowfall across the Southwest (see animated US snow cover map above right), the snowpack is less than 50% of average across much of the region causing rising concern over spring water supply, which primarily results from melting snow. Abundant snowfall accumulated in parts of the northwest through the winter and into March as Pacific storms impacted the region. More information on March winter weather can also be found on NCDC's Hazards page, while information on the southwestern drought can be found on NCDC's monthly drought pages.