DC's diverse March weather

 

Feeling more like spring

March is arguably the most diverse weather month of the year in the nation’s capital.  It has something for everyone from cold and snow to late spring-like warmth.  March has, in recent years, featured a lot of mild and drier than average weather for Washingtonians. 

DC residents have experienced three of the five warmest March’s on record just since 2012.  80-degree warmth has occurred in every March since 2020, so it will be interesting to see if the nation’s capital can make it a fifth consecutive year in 2024.  On the opposite end of the spectrum were DC’s three consecutive colder than average March’s from 2013 – 2015, DC’s longest such stretch since the early 1990s.  Record March snowfall also occurred in 2014 and 2015.

While 80-degree warmth is uncommon in the nation's capital, DC's warmest March temperature on record is 93°.  Ironically, March 1907 featured three days of 90-degree heat in the nation's capital, but it doesn't rank among the Top 10 warmest overall since it got off to a very cold and snowy start.  

NOAA updated its 30-year climate averages in the spring of 2021 to reflect the period of 1991-2020.  That replaced the previous dataset of 1981-2010.  There were changes that resulted from replacing the 1980s with the 2010s.  Since the 2010s were such a warm decade for the nation’s capital, average daily high/low temperatures increased throughout March as a result. 

However, the biggest change in DC’s March weather was the result of it being DC’s snowiest month of the year five times in the last 15 years.  Consequently, DC’s March snowfall average increased from 1.3” to 2”.  March is now DC’s third snowiest month of the year behind only January and February.  Accumulating March snowfall has occurred in the nation’s capital in seven of the last 10 years.  At the same time, March has been drier than average six times in the last 10 years.

DC’s Ten Warmest March’s (Source: NOAA)

1. 56.8° (2012)
2. 56.2° (1945)
3. 55.5° (1921)
4. 53.5° (2016)
5. 53.2° (2020)
6. 53.0° (1946)
7. 52.7° (1977)
8. 51.7° (2000)
9. 51.5° (1979)
10. 51.3° (1976)

Who's ready for spring ?

 

NOAA's Temperature Outlook for March

February 2024 finished tied with 2012 as DC's seventh warmest on record. Along with December and January being appreciably warmer than average, that made the 2023-2024 winter season one of the warmest on record in the nation's capital. Last month was also the ninth consecutive one with below average snowfall and the 2023-2024 winter was DC's fifth consecutive with below average snowfall.

Meteorological spring got underway on March 1 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 an even 50/50 split of warmer and colder than average March’s over the last 20 years in Washington, D.C. However, five of the last six have 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 merely 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 five times since 2009. According to NOAA, 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”.

Only seven of the last 20 March’s had above average snowfall in the nation’s capital. Longtime Washingtonians may remember March 2014 was DC’s snowiest since 1960 with 12.7”. By comparison, March has also been a drier than average month 13 times over the last two decades, including in seven of the last eight. 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.

This helps illustrate how streaky March weather can be in the nation’s capital. Unusual warmth, such as during much of this January and February, can be followed by unusually cold weather.  A good example of this occurred in 2018. February 2018 finished as DC's fourth warmest on record, but was followed by a very cold March. March 2018 had more than double the average amount of monthly snowfall, along with 25 of 31 days that were cooler than average. 

DC's weather is especially important this time of year as all eyes pivot to one of DC's signature springtime attractions: the cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin. NOAA’s March outlook is for above average temperatures combined with near average precipitation in the DC Metro Area. 

A closer look at DC's unusually warm winter

 

A view of DC on the way out of town

DC's 2023-2024 winter weather was memorable for many reasons.  Check out this feature I wrote for the WUSA9 website for details.