March 2022 Weather Recap: Somewhat Mild & Dry

 

 

March 2022 was the 17th mildest March on record in New York.  (March 2020 and 2021 are among the 16 that were milder.)   The month was 2.5 degrees above average, with the high and low being 3.7 and 1.2 degrees above average, respectively.  This March would probably have ranked among the ten mildest if it weren't for four cold days:

 

•             March 4 -  37°/21°, 11 degrees below average 
•             March 13 - 35°/22°, 13 degrees below average
•             March 28 - 33°/23°, 19 degrees below average 
•             March 29 - 38°/24°, 15 degrees below average

      

March 28th's high was the coldest this late into the year in 40 years, since a high of 30° on April 7, 1982.  (Temperatures rebounded on the 31st, and from late morning into the wee hours of 4/1, they were in the 60s.)  And the last time a low of 23° occurred later than 3/28 was in 1995, on 4/6.

 

 

March 7 and 18 were the mildest days of the month, with both having the same high/low of 74°/50°.  The eight-day period from March 15-22 was 12 degrees above average (high/low of 64°/46°).  This was followed five days later by a four-day stretch of unseasonably cold temperatures, from March 27-30, 13 degrees below average (41°/26°).

 

Below average precipitation, 2.39" (about two inches below average), made this NYC's 29th driest March (tied with March 1897).  Much of the rain, 1.99", fell on three days (0.56" on 3/9, 0.50" on 3/12, and 0.93" on 3/24).  Only 0.4" of snow fell (3/9), but it was the most in March in three years.  33 other Marches have had less snow.

 

There was a wind gust of 49 mph the night of 3/7, the highest gust recorded in Central Park since one of  62 mph during superstorm Sandy on Oct. 29, 2012.   

 

Finally, on 3/22 afternoon humidity drop to 11% (fourth lowest of this century).

 

Here are March recaps from previous years:

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[William]

this was the third March in a row with less than one inch of snow. when was the previous instance of at least three Marches in a row with less than one inch of snow?

[Rob]

This is the first time there's been a March streak of three years. Very close behind was 2010-2012, in which March had snowfall of a trace (2010), 1.0" (2011), and a trace (2012).

[Jayden]

Rob, was March 28th the coldest day after the spring solsitce, the coldest in the spring, or a very late date for a high of 35 degrees or low?

[Rob]

As you surmised, it's very rare that temperatures this cold are experienced at the end of March or in April in New York. As my write-up about 3/28's weather highlights pointed out, the last time we had such a cold day prior to this year was on April 7, 1982. Other years with high temperatures of 32° or colder in late March/first half of April happened in 1923, 1919, 1887, 1884, 1881, and 1879. There were also three days in 1923 with highs slightly above freezing, but with lows in the lower teens: 10° on March 29; 12° on April 1; and 14° on March 31.

[Jayden]

The high winds on 3/7 was actually from a thunderstorm/rainstorm that reached New York City. Like you mentioned Rob, the highest wind speed on that day was 49 MPH, which to put it in perspective, during Hurricane Isias on 8/4/2020, we had 58 MPH on that day. Is it rare to see very high wind speeds in Central Park?

[Guttmana9]

3/28 set a record low for the coldest high

[Rob]

Because Central Park's weather station is somewhat protected compared to the weather stations at the three airports, or down at the Battery in Manhattan, peak gusts tend to be 10-15 mph less than those at the less protected sites.