U.S. Temperatures Near Average in March as Global Land Temperature Sets Record

From NOAA/NWS:

An analysis by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center shows that the average temperature for March in the contiguous United States ranked near average for the past 113 years. It was the 63rd warmest March since record-keeping began in the United States in 1895.

The average global land temperature last month was the warmest on record and ocean surface temperatures were the 13th warmest. Combining the land and the ocean temperatures, the overall global temperature ranked the second warmest for the month of March. Global temperature averages have been recorded since 1880.

U.S. Temperature Highlights:
In the contiguous United States, the average temperature for March was 42°F, which was 0.4°F below the 20th century mean, ranking it as the 63rd warmest March on record, based on preliminary data.

Only Rhode Island, New Mexico and Arizona were warmer than average, while near-average temperatures occurred in 39 other states. The monthly temperature for Alaska was the 17th warmest on record, with an average temperature 3.8°F above the 1971-2000 mean.

The broad area of near-average temperatures kept the nation’s overall temperature-related residential energy demand for March near average, based on NOAA’s Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index.

U.S. Precipitation Highlights:
Snowpack conditions dropped in many parts of the West in March, but in general, heavy snowfall during December-February has left the western snow pack among the healthiest in more than a decade, with most locations near to above average.

Nine states from Oklahoma to Vermont were much wetter than average, with Missouri experiencing its second wettest March on record. Much of the month’s precipitation fell March 17-20, when an intense storm system moved slowly from the southern Plains through the southern Midwest.

Rainfall amounts in a 48-hour period totaled 13.84 inches in Cape Girardeau, Mo., and 12.32 inches in Jackson, Mo. The heavy rainfall combined with previously saturated ground resulted in widespread major flooding of rivers and streams from the Missouri Ozarks eastward into southern Indiana.

From March 7-9, eight to 12 inches of snow fell from Louisville, Ky., to central Ohio. In Columbus, an all-time greatest 24-hour snowfall of 15.5 inches broke the old record of 12.3 inches set on April 4, 1987.

In the Southeast, a powerful tornado moved through downtown Atlanta on March 14, causing significant damage to many buildings. This was one of 90 tornado reports from the Southeast in March.

Rainfall in the middle of March improved drought conditions in much of the Southeast, but moderate-to-extreme drought still remained in more than 59 percent of the region.

In the western U.S., the weather pattern in March bore a greater resemblance to a typical La Niña, with especially dry conditions across Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California. March was extremely dry in much of California, tying as the driest in 68 years at the Sacramento airport with 0.05 inches, a 2.75 inch departure from average.