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| Late March Cold in the Mid-Atlantic Region |
March 2015 is on the verge of officially becoming the
third consecutive colder than average March in the Nation’s Capital. As recently as Saturday, parts of the
Mid-Atlantic Region experienced record cold such as at Dulles Airport, where a
new record was set for the coldest “high” temperature of 37 degrees. That was significantly colder than the
average high of 60 degrees on March 28 at Dulles Airport.
Although high temperatures reached the 70s downtown twice
in March, that did little to offset the predominantly colder than average
temperatures Washingtonians endured this month.
There were two occasions this month where high temperatures held in the
30s, which is significant as the March sun angle gets higher. A total of 4.9” of snow also occurred this
month, which is almost quadruple the March average of 1.3” at National Airport. This month’s average temperature (combining
daily highs and lows) will also finish roughly 1.5 degrees colder than average in
Washington, D.C.
March 2014 was even colder and was the coldest March since
1996 in Washington, D.C. However, most
will remember last March for the above average snowfall that occurred. Not only was there a snowy St. Patrick’s Day
in the Nation’s Capital last year, but the 3.9” of snow that fell on March 17,
2014, also set a daily snowfall record. The
late season snow continued the following week with another 1.7” of snow on March
25, 2014. March 2014 was the snowiest
March in more than 40 years in Washington, D.C., and was the snowiest March on
record at Dulles Airport.
There was a thirteen degree temperature swing in
Washington, D.C., between March 2012 (the warmest March on record – that was 10
degrees warmer than average) and March 2013 (that was 3 degrees colder than
average). The warmest temperature during
all of March 2013 was 63 degrees, while Washingtonians enjoyed 14 days with
temperatures of least 70 degrees the previous March.
By the time 1.4” of snow fell at National Airport on
March 25, 2013, more than two years had passed since the last time an inch or
more of snow fell in Washington, D.C. So
in addition to being colder than average, March 2013 saw the single largest
snowfall in the Nation’s Capital since January 2011. As a
result of being colder than average, the Cherry Blossoms along the Tidal Basin
didn’t reach peak bloom until April 9, 2013, according to the U.S. Park
Service. By comparison, the 2012 Cherry
Blossoms reached peak bloom almost three weeks earlier on March 20.
According the National Weather Service, the last time
there were three consecutive colder than average March’s in the Nation’s
Capital was in 1992, 1993 and 1994. As
Washingtonians saw then, a colder than average March doesn’t mean the entire
spring will be colder than average. It
does mean if you're looking forward to sustained spring-like
temperatures, than you will appreciate them even more once they arrive. In the meantime, longtime Washingtonians can
fondly remember the record high of 87 degrees that occurred on this date in
1998.
