Looking back at the month of March, NOAA's State of the Climate reports shows the average temperature of the United States was warmer-than-average with several states in New England experiencing one of the warmest March's on record. The overall temperature across the US was 44.4°, which is 1.9° above the long-term average. The South and Southeast experienced below normal temperatures due to several storms that developed along the Atlantic Coast. Thirteen states had an average temperature that were among their 10 warmest for March including Rhode Island, which is interesting because it was the wettest January - March for them. Cooler than normal temperatures were seen across the Gulf Coast, New Mexico, Georgia and South Carolina. Florida had its fourth coolest March on record.
As far as precipitation goes, March was below the long term mean. The national rainfall average was 2.16 inches, 0.24 inches below average. Looking at other highlights from March, the preliminary tornado count was 36, which tied for the 4th quietest March since 1950. Mid-March ice coverage over the Great Lakes was at a record low with only 3.5 percent of the Lakes' surface. Just to put that in perspective, the average ice extend is roughly 31 percent - according to the Canadian Ice Service.
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