March actually had fewer days above 60 degrees than Feburary. 2 in March compared to 5 in February. March's average temperature of 28.0F was a full 4.6 degrees lower than the February average of 32.6. It was even lower than the January average of 28.9. I'm too lazy to go look at December but March was probably warmer than then too because temperatures typically bottom out in late January. Not that it has been a normal 2 years by any means. In anycase, by the end of the month, snow was just a distant memory.
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| March Temperatures were largely normal to below normal |
While the plants apart from spring bulbs were all asleep, areas farther south did not fare well with the early start to the growing season and then winter's return. Cherry blossoms in DC were covered with ice during the snowstorm that impacted there and here. With the increasingly volatile temperature swings, early warmth followed by damaging freezes will probably become more common across the US. People should probably stay away from early blooming plants like ornamental cherries and magnolias or at least select later blooming varieties. Even later blooming plants like Apple trees are at risk of freeze damage as shown by the recent spring freezes which have been disruptive to the local apple industry.
