The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says March 2007 was the second-warmest on record globally, but cooler than the long-term average for the contiguous 48 states. In fact, the Western snowpack is the healthiest  in more than a decade, thanks to heavy snowfall in December, January and February.

Here's the full report.

And here are some highlights:

* Temperatures in the lower 48 states averaged 42 degrees in March, almost a half-degree lower than the average for the past 113 years.

* Alaska had its 17th-warmest March, 3.8 degrees above the mean from 1971-2000.

* Globally, land and surface water temperatures averaged 1.28 degrees above the 20th century mean, making it the second-warmest March globally. The average was pushed higher by much-warmer-than-normal temperatures in Eurasia.

* While the Western snowpack fared well in March, snow cover across the Northern Hemisphere was the fourth-lowest on record, consistent with the pattern of the past two decades, in which warming temperatures reduced the northern snow cover.

Extreme events during March included a rare downtown tornado in Atlanta, heavy rains in Missouri, widespread flooding from the Ozarks to Indiana, heavy snows in Kentucky and Ohio.

Here's a NOAA map of some other extreme March events around the world: