The March 2015 North American winter storm was a significant snow and ice storm that plowed through much of the United States, bringing 1–2 feet (12–24 in) of snow and record cold temperatures behind it.^[1][3] The storm actually occurred in two phases, with the latter bringing the cold temperatures behind it in its wake. Record cold temperatures even spread down to as far as northern Florida.

The first phase of the storm came on March 2, as a vigorous area of low pressure formed along an arctic cold front. Drawing some moisture from the so-called "Pineapple Express" from the Pacific, snowfall began to develop in the Upper Midwest, spreading a swath of accumulating snow ranging from 3–6 inches (7.6–15.2 cm) into March 3.^[4] Snow began to push into the Northeast by the evening, with generally light accumulations, before tapering off and changing to rain showers later that night. As the initial area of low pressure moved into the northeastern parts of Canada, its cold front lingered, stretching from Maine to western Texas. Because of the "Pineapple Express" pumping moisture into just about the same area where this arctic front was set up, snow began to break out as a plume of precipitation began to take shape by mid-day on March 4. This was the start of the final phase of the winter storm.^[5] An icing threat also loomed ahead as well, stretching into the southwestern part of the Mid-Atlantic. A new area of low pressure then formed near the Arkansas–Louisiana border and began to track eastward. Rain changed to moderate snowfall by 1 a.m EDT March 5, as cold air began to sink in. A long swath of snow then began to stretch from the southeastern tip of Massachusetts, into New York City, all the way down to the northern parts of Mississippi.^[6] Snow from this system was that of the dry, fluffy kind, which was one reason power outages weren't so severe in the Northeast, however there was more in the ice portion of the storm. The storm continued to dump snow, ice and sleet across the eastern half of the United States, before moving off the coast late on March 5, leaving snow accumulations of 6–12 inches (15–30 cm) into the Northeast,^[4] and record cold in its wake, with some areas, like Jackson, Mississippi, experiencing a near 50 °F (28 °C) drop in 24 hours as the arctic front moved through. Several daily, and monthly, record lows were set.^[1]

• Weather of 2015