If you thought it was warm in March, you were right. Much of the U.S. east of the Rockies saw
record or near record warmth for the first month of spring. This follows the 4th warmest
winter for the U.S. as a whole. More
information will be released from the National Climatic Data Center next week.
However, we do have the information for Columbia. It was a record March for the city and not by
just a small amount. The average
temperature for the month was 65.4 degrees beating the previous record of 64.7
set in 1945. This was almost 10 degrees
(9.8) above normal for the month.
Top 5 Warmest
Mean Temperature Year Temperature
2012
|
65.4
|
1945
|
64.7
|
1921
|
63.9
|
1907
|
62.5
|
1974
|
61.7
|
The lowest temperature was 35 degrees recorded on the 6th. The average low temperature was 53.2 which
places it as the third warmest. First
place goes to 1945 with a record average low temperature of 53.9 degree.
Top 5 Warmest
Avg. Low Temperature Year Temperature
1945
|
53.9
|
1921
|
53.4
|
2012
|
53.2
|
1903
|
53.2
|
1946
|
51.7
|
What really stole the show was the average high
temperature which beat the previous record by two degrees. The average high temperature was 77.7 beating
75.7 in 1945. It is interesting that the
highest temperature for the month was 88 which tied the record highs on the 15th
and 19th. No record high
temperatures were broken during March.
Top 5 Warmest
Avg. High Temperature Year Temperature
2012
|
77.7
|
1945
|
75.7
|
1974
|
75.4
|
1921
|
74.6
|
1997
|
74.6
|
This was the result of a
blocking pattern that persisted much of the month. A ridge of high pressure in the upper
atmosphere was parked over the eastern U.S. which helped to deflect storm
systems north into Canada.
The last freeze occurred on February
21 with a low of 31 degrees. It does not
appear that any freezes are expected in April.
In fact the Climate Prediction Center is forecasting warmer and drier
conditions for the month. If this does
come to pass then it means that the growing season started on February 22 which
is more than a month ahead of schedule.
March was also dry for Columbia with a total rainfall of
2.21 inches. This made March the 25th
driest March on record. It also means
that the drought continues. There have
only been 4 wet months out of the last 27 months. The rainfall deficit is already about 4.5
inches and is likely to get worse in April.
The outlook for April is for warmer and drier than normal conditions. It is likely to cool down toward the end of the week with another cool shot next week. However, look for very warm conditions for the latter half of the month.
 |
| The April Temperature Outlook. Image Credit: NOAA/CPC. |
 |
| The April Precipitation Outlook. Image Credit: NOAA/CPC. |
