Florida Climate Center

Prepared by Preston Leftwich, David F. Zierden, and Melissa Griffin
Florida Climate Center
The Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL

Average temperatures well below normal in March. For a third consecutive month, average temperatures for March were well below normal across the entire state (Table 1). Primary reporting stations observed average temperatures for the month more than four degrees below normal, with Orlando and Key West more than six degrees below normal. On March 5th several daily minimum temperature records were set or tied (Table 2). In particular, the minimum temperature (53° F) at Key West on the 5th tied a daily record from 1873. The average temperature at Vero Beach (61.2° F) tied the record for the coldest March, previously observed in 1969. Also, the average temperature at Naples (63.6° F) was the coldest on record for March.

Table 1: March average temperatures and departures from normal (°F) for selected cities.

Table 2: Minimum temperature (°F) records tied or broken during March (compiled from NWS).

March rainfall well above normal in central areas. Rainfall totals for March were well above normal across central Florida, below normal across much of northern Florida and generally near normal in southern Florida (Table 3). Pensacola (0.82") and Key West (-1.52") were locally above and below normal, respectively. Numerous daily rainfall records were set on March 11th and 12th (Table 4). The widespread area of above normal rainfall in central Florida and a narrow band of above normal rainfall along the northern Gulf coast are evident in Figure 1.

Table 3: March precipitation totals and departures from normal (inches) for selected cities.

Table 4: Daily rainfall records (inches) set during March (compiled from NWS).

Figure 1. A graphical depiction of the monthly rainfall departure from normal (inches) for March is given in the figure below (courtesy of NOAA, NWS).