March Weather Headlines

Great Falls, Maryland

This March has lived up to its reputation as being a highly diverse weather month in the Nation’s Capital. High temperatures have ranged from 80 degrees on March 1 to the 30s on March 14 and March 15.  March 1 was the third earliest 80-degree temperature on record in Washington, D.C.

This March will also finish with another unusual distinction in the Nation’s Capital as being the snowiest month of the winter.  The 2” of snow that occurred on March 13-14 was more than the 1.4” that occurred previously.  Dating back to 1887, there have been only 22 winter seasons where March was the snowiest month.  The 2016-2017 winter will add to that list and be the first such winter since 2013-2014.  Some area residents may recall that March 2014 was the snowiest in Washington, D.C. since 1960.

Mid-Atlantic residents also experienced severe weather on March 1 due to a powerful cold front.  Although the DC Metro region typically sees most of its severe weather in the late spring and early summer, this year has seen an above average start to severe weather season nationally. From January 1 through March 26, there have been more than 300 tornadoes across the United States.  According to NOAA data, the United States averages approximately 1,250 tornadoes in a given year.  However, an average of only 144 tornadoes occur during the first three months of the year.

A prominent weather story that’s continued this month in the Mid-Atlantic Region is the ongoing dry weather.  Washington, D.C.’s rainfall deficit has grown to more than 13” dating back to August 2015.  The rainfall deficit is approximately 9” just since September 2016.  That’s led to moderate to severe drought conditions for parts of the Mid-Atlantic Region according to the Drought Monitor Index.

Although there has been with 2.2” of rain so far this month in Washington, D.C., March averages 3.48”.  So Washingtonians need more rain just to meet the March average.  Meanwhile, above average rainfall would help make up some of rainfall deficit.  The last wetter than average month in Washington, D.C. was May 2016.  Fortunately, there are several rain chances during the upcoming week.