Climatological Report (Monthly)
Issued by NWS Buffalo, NY

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CXUS51 KBUF 061715 CCA
CLMBUF

CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
634 AM EDT SAT APR 01 2023

...................................

...THE BUFFALO NY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH 2023...

CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1871 TO 2023

WEATHER         OBSERVED          NORMAL  DEPART   LAST YEAR`S
                VALUE   DATE(S)   VALUE   FROM     VALUE DATE(S)
                                          NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
 HIGH             82   03/21/2012
 LOW              -7   03/08/1984
HIGHEST           56   03/22                          71  03/18
LOWEST            21   03/19                          11  03/04
AVG. MAXIMUM    41.4               41.8    -0.4     47.2
AVG. MINIMUM    29.1               26.4     2.7     29.4
MEAN            35.2               34.1     1.1     38.3
DAYS MAX >= 90     0                0.0     0.0        0
DAYS MAX <= 32     3                6.4    -3.4        5
DAYS MIN <= 32    24               22.7     1.3       18
DAYS MIN <= 0      0                0.3    -0.3        0

PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
 MAXIMUM        7.03   1936
 MINIMUM        0.68   1910
TOTALS          4.05               2.89    1.16     2.21
DAYS >= .01       17                                  15
DAYS >= .10        8                                   6
DAYS >= .50        4                                   1
DAYS >= 1.00       0                                   0
GREATEST
 24 HR. TOTAL   1.10   03/03 TO 03/04               0.51  03/23 TO 03/23

SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
 TOTAL          38.5   1936
TOTALS          10.0               14.1    -4.1      9.3
SINCE 7/1      133.6               92.9    40.7
SNOWDEPTH AVG.     1                                   0
DAYS >= 1.0        2                3.6    -1.6        4
DAYS >= 0.1        9                                   8
GREATEST
 SNOW DEPTH        5R  03/11                           4  03/13
 24 HR TOTAL     6.3   03/10 TO 03/11

DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL    915                958     -43      819
 SINCE 7/1      4975               5576    -601       MM
COOLING TOTAL      0                  0       0        0
 SINCE 1/1         0                  0       0       MM
................................................................

WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED              11.3
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION    44/240
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION    68/230    DATE  03/25

SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT)   MM
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR            3
NUMBER OF DAYS PC              7
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY         21

AVERAGE RH (PERCENT)     71

WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM              4     MIXED PRECIP               0
HEAVY RAIN                1     RAIN                       6
LIGHT RAIN               13     FREEZING RAIN              0
LT FREEZING RAIN          0     HAIL                       2
HEAVY SNOW                2     SNOW                       4
LIGHT SNOW               16     SLEET                      2
FOG                      17     FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE      2
HAZE                      3

-  INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R  INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T  INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.

&&

...BREEZY, CHANGEABLE MARCH...

TYPICALLY MARCH IS AN ACTIVE MONTH WITH EARLY SPRING WARMTH AND LATE
WINTER CHILL BRINGING A VARIETY OF UNSETTLED WEATHER TO WESTERN NEW
YORK. THERE WERE NO EXTREME TEMPERATURES OR SNOWFALL EVENTS, THOUGH
MANY WEATHER PATTERNS OCCURRED, INCLUDING SEVERAL STRONG WIND EVENTS
TO CLOSE OUT THE MONTH OF MARCH. 

THE TEMPERATURE AVERAGED 35.2F FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH WHICH IS JUST
OVER A DEGREE ABOVE NORMAL. IN A MONTH WHEN TEMPERATURE EXTREMES
FROM NORMAL ARE MORE COMMON, THERE WERE FEW SIGNIFICANT DEPARTURES
FROM NORMAL, WITH JUST 2 DAYS (MARCH 1ST, 22ND) AVERAGING 10F
DEGREES ABOVE AVERAGE, AND ONE DAY (MARCH 30TH) AVERAGING 10F
DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. ALL OTHER DAYS HAD LESS DEPARTURE FROM
TEMPERATURE NORMAL. THE HIGH TEMPERATURE ON THE 22ND REACHED 56F,
THE WARMEST DAY THIS MONTH, BUT STILL MORE THAN 10F DEGREES LOWER
THAN THE TYPICAL WARMEST MARCH DAY. THERE WERE NO DAILY RECORDS
ESTABLISHED, AND DAYS ABOVE NORMAL OUTWEIGHED DAYS BELOW NORMAL 18
TO 10 DAYS.

IT WAS A WET MONTH WITH PRECIPITATION TOTALING 4.05 INCHES, TIED FOR
THE 20TH WETTEST MARCH ON RECORD. THERE WERE 17 DAYS WITH MEASURABLE
PRECIPITATION, ONE DAY MORE THAN THE AIRPORT MARCH NORMAL. OF THESE
17 DAYS, 4 HAD AT LEAST A HALF AN INCH OF PRECIPITATION, WHICH IS 2
DAYS MORE THAN NORMAL AND IS ALSO THE 3RD GREATEST AMOUNT FOR THE
MONTH. FOR THE YEAR THERE HAVE BEEN 9 DAYS WITH A HALF INCH OR MORE
OF PRECIPITATION, TRAILING JUST THE YEAR 1900 WHICH HAD 10 SUCH
DAYS. NEW SNOWFALL MEASURED AT 10.0 INCHES FOR MARCH, ABOUT FOUR
INCHES BELOW NORMAL. 

MARCH BEGAN MILD ACROSS THE METRO BUFFALO AREA WITH A SOUTHERLY FLOW
SENDING TEMPERATURES TO THE LOWER 50S DURING THE AFTERNOON. HOWEVER
TO THE SOUTH ACROSS THE HILLS OF THE SOUTHERN NIAGARA FRONTIER A
LIGHT MIX OF SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN FELL MID-MORNING BEFORE
BECOMING PLAIN RAIN SHOWERS. A STORM SYSTEM TRACKED JUST SOUTH OF
WESTERN NEW YORK MARCH 3RD-4TH, WITH A MIX OF LONG DURATION RAIN AND
WET SNOW. THIS SYSTEM PULLED AWAY TO THE EAST LATER ON THE 4TH, WITH
BRILLIANT BLUE SKIES FILLING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. MOSTLY SUNNY
CONDITIONS ALSO OCCURRED FROM THE 7TH THROUGH THE 9TH. A STORM
SYSTEM MOVED OUT OF THE OHIO VALLEY AND ACROSS OUR REGION ON THE
10TH, BRINGING AN ALL SNOW SYNOPTIC EVENT TO WESTERN NEW YORK. A
SOLID HALF FOOT TO ONE FOOT OF SNOW FELL OVER THE AREA. THE 10TH WAS
ALSO THE START OF A 6-DAY STRETCH WITH BELOW DAILY NORMAL
TEMPERATURES. A WEAK WAVE BROUGHT A LITTLE SNOW, FOLLOWED BY WEAK
LAKE EFFECT SNOW DURING THIS COLD STRETCH. MODERATING TEMPERATURES
FOR THE 17TH THROUGH THE 21ST, THOUGH EACH DAY WAS BREEZY WITH WINDS
GUSTING IN THE 40 MPH RANGE EACH DAY. A WARM FRONT LIFTED ACROSS
WESTERN NEW YORK ON THE 23RD WITH A HALF INCH TO THREE QUARTERS OF
AN INCH OF RAIN. AFTER A BRIEF DRY SPELL ON THE 25TH ANOTHER COLD
FRONT WHIPPED STRONG WINDS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE METRO
BUFFALO AREA. WINDS INCREASED DURING THE EARLY EVENING HOURS,
PEAKING AT 68 MPH AT 10:30 PM. SCATTERED POWER OUTAGES RESULTED FROM
THESE WINDS, THOUGH THE WORST DAMAGE WAS ACROSS NIAGARA COUNTY WITH
NUMEROUS TREES DOWN. THESE WINDS ALSO PRODUCED A SEICHE ON LAKE ERIE
WITH THE LAKE RISING TO 8 FOOT 10 INCHES DURING THE EVENING HOURS OF
SATURDAY, MARCH 25TH. ANOTHER STRONG COLD FRONT PASSED THROUGH
BUFFALO DURING RUSH HOUR ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29TH. AHEAD OF THE
FRONT WINDS GUSTED TO 61 MPH, AND AS THE FRONT PASSED A SNOW SQUALL,
WITH BRIEF BUT BLINDING SNOW FELL. THE MONTH ENDED WITH LIGHT RAIN
SHOWERS AND A THUNDERSTORM DURING THE FINAL HOUR OF THE MONTH. 

THERE WERE SEVERAL WIND EVENTS THIS MONTH, WITH 3 DAYS RECORDING A
60 MPH OR GREATER WIND GUST. DESPITE A NUMBER OF BREEZY TO WINDY
DAYS THE WINDS AVERAGED JUST A TICK ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 11.2 MPH.
WITH NO ICE COVER ON LAKE ERIE THIS WINTER THE WATER TEMPERATURE
ROSE TO RECORD LEVELS FOR MARCH, WITH READINGS AS HIGH AS 39F. 

IN ALL A WINDY, TRANSITIONAL MONTH.  

&&

THOMAS

$$


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