Changing seasons in the nation’s capital!

 

NOAA's temperature outlook for March 2025

Last month finished as DC’s first warmer and snowier than average February since 1975. Meteorological spring got underway yesterday and continues through the end of May. 

Average daily high/low temperatures rise dramatically this month from 52°/35° on March 1 to 62°/43° on March 31. There has been a near 50/50 split of warmer and colder than average March’s over the last 20 years. However, the last five have each been warmer than average. DC’s warmest March temperature on record is 93° on March 23, 1907. By comparison, the coldest March temperature in the nation’s capital remains 4° on March 4, 1873.

Despite the warming March temperatures, accumulating snowfall can still occur. It becomes less common as the month wears on. As recently as 2018, Washington, D.C. saw 4.1” of snow as late as March 21. March has been DC’s snowiest month of the year four times since 2010. Longtime Washingtonians may remember that March 2014 was DC’s snowiest since 1960 with 12.7”. March is the only month of the year DC’s snowfall average has increased in the last 10 years  (having risen from 1.3” to 2.0”), according to NOAA.  

By comparison, March has also been a drier than average month 12 times over the last two decades. DC residents average 3.5” of March rainfall (including liquid equivalent of melted snowfall). Precipitation is important in March as it sets the stage for the start of the growing season.

Unseasonal warmth during January and February can sometimes be followed by unusually cold March weather. A good example of this occurred in 2017. February 2017 finished as DC's warmest on record, but was followed by a colder than average March. That was significant because DC’s famous cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin were on track for an earlier than average peak bloom. However, March 2017 had eight consecutive days with lows that were below freezing in the middle of the month. That caused widespread damage to the buds that had developed early, which resulted in losing a number of blossoms.

The world-famous cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin are one of DC's signature springtime attractions. NOAA’s March outlook is for an equal chance of near average temperatures combined with near average precipitation in the DC Metro Area. The National Park Service factored that into their initial forecast for peak bloom of the cherry blossoms to occur between March 28 – March 31.