April is Almost Here

Spring is a beautiful time of the year !

Residents and tourists in the DC Metro Region are in a good place weather-wise as March 2016 comes to a close.  The cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin reached peak bloom on March 25 – a full two weeks earlier than in 2014 and 2015.  This month is also well-positioned to finish among the warmest Marchs on record in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.

March features some of the widest variability in weather of any month.  During the last 25 years there have been memorable cases of highly changeable weather – including significant snowfall and severe weather.  Fresh on the minds of many is how the last three Marchs have been colder and snowier than average in the Mid-Atlantic Region.  In fact, with 12.7 inches of snow, March 2014 was Washington, D.C.’s snowiest March in decades.

March can also be fickle on a day-to-day basis with any given day featuring a cold start and a very warm finish.  Such was the case on March 7, 1994, when National Airport had a low temperature of 35 degrees and a high of 73 degrees for a dramatic 38-degree swing in temperature.  On the same day, Dulles Airport saw a 45-degree difference between its high and low temperature.  Such dramatic temperature swings can promote an atmosphere conducive to severe weather like what occurred on March 29, 2003.  That’s when a tornado touched down near the town of La Plata in Charles County, MD.  An even larger severe weather outbreak occurred in the Mid-Atlantic Region on March 4, 2008 with multiple reports of severe wind and hail. 

Severe weather is more common in other parts of the United States in March.  For example, on March 2, 2012 a significant outbreak occurred from Texas to Ohio with nearly 1,000 severe weather reports – including 160 tornadoes.  Those tornadoes tragically caused more than two dozen fatalities.  Another deadly tornado outbreak occurred on March 12, 2006 when 140 tornadoes developed from Oklahoma to Illinois and claimed four lives. Fortunately, this March hasn’t had a severe weather outbreak as widespread or deadly as either of those outbreaks.

This month’s weather in the Nation’s Capital has been relatively benign with above average temperatures.  The combination of a warm second half of February and March’s warmth helped the cherry blossoms reach one of their earliest peak blooms of the last 25 years.  As March comes to a close, my colleagues and I on the WUSA9 weather team will keep you apprised of the latest weather forecasts on-air, online and on the WUSA9 app – free for your mobile devices.