OSWEGO, NY – March 2013 goes into the record book as “a down month,” according to Bill Gregway, local observer for the National Weather Service.
“Everything is down,” he said. “Some just a little. Other stuff quite a bit.”
The average temperature last month was 33.8 degrees. That’s just 0.1-degree below average, according to Gregway.
The highest temperature last month was 57 degrees on the 10th with 56 degrees on the 31st a close second. The lowest was 17 degrees on the 14th and then again on the 18th.
There were no records set last month, Gregway said.
The high was 50 degrees or higher on 3 days, 2 of which were consecutive.
There were 9 days where the high was 40 degrees or above with 6 of them in a row; all coming at the end of the month, Gregway noted.
The overnight low sank into the teens twice last month (the 17-degree days).
Eight times the overnight low was 33 degrees or warmer, with 6 of them in a row at the end of the month, Gregway added.
Total precipitation for March wound up at 1.21 inches. That is 2.15 inches below normal.
“We tied with 1987 for like 17th driest March on record since 1854,” Gregway said.
“So, that’s no big deal at all. We have had a lot drier months.”
Since the first of the year, total precipitation stands at 7.07 inches. That is 2.91 inches below average.
The greatest precipitation in a 24-hour period was 0.52-inch on the 19th.
Measurable precipitation fell on 16 days, 6 consecutively.
There was just a trace on 4 days.
And, 11 days had no precipitation. Six of those were in a row.
Snowfall for March, 12.1 inches, was also down – 7.2 inches below average.
For the winter, it’s even worse. At the end of March, the total was 103.5 inches, which is 42 inches below average.
The greatest snowfall in a 24-hour period was 5.2 inches on the 19th.
We had snow pellets 3 times and ice pellets once last month.
There were no thunderstorms, which is 1 below average.
March had a single foggy day. That is average.
The number of cloudy days, 20, was 2 above average.
The number of partly cloudy days, 9, was 1 above average.
The number of clear days, 2, was 3 below average.
The area saw 33 percent of the possible amount of sunshine. That is 10 percentages below average.
The highest barometric pressure was 30.40 on the 9th and the lowest was 29.57 on the 25th.
The strongest winds were west-northwesterly at greater than 30 mph on the 14th.
Last year 12.8 degrees warmer than average.
“The highest temperature was 78 degrees,” Gregway said. “And, we had 5 days in a row where it was 70 degrees or warmer.”
Total precipitation for March 2012 was 1.75 inches, he added.
Snowfall was just 9.1 inches.
The total for the winter was 70.6 inches – which is 75.9 inches below average.
The warmest March on record is 1945 – 42.8 degrees. The coldest (18.8 degrees) came in 1885.
The highest temperature ever recorded in March is 83 degrees. It came in 1945, 1986 and 1998. Meanwhile, the lowest is -11 degrees set in 1872.
The wettest March is 1859 (7.07 inches). The driest is 1850 with just 0.37-inch.
The most precipitation in a 24-hour period is 1.69 inches in 1971.
March 1971 also holds the dubious honor as being the snowiest – 53.6 inches.
There was a big blizzard in March 1947, Gregway added. That month received 47.4 inches of snow.
The least amount of snow for March is a trace in 1962, 2009 and 2010.
The most snow in a 24-hour period is 19.1 inches in 1900.
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