March Temperature Records Shattered

Cherry blossoms on March 4, a sign of early spring in Brooklyn. (Image credit: Wynne Parry)

Last month was the warmest March the lower 48 states have seen since 1895, when records began, according to scientists at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The average temperature of 51.1 degrees Fahrenheit (10.6 degrees Celsius) was 0.5 degrees F (0.9 degrees C) warmer than the previous record holder, March 1910, and 8.6 degrees F (4.8 degrees C) above the 20th-century average for March.

The warmer-than-average temperatures also created perfect conditions for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, according to NOAA; an outbreak of tornadoes early in the month across the Ohio Valley and the Southeast brought the country's first weather disaster with damages to top $1 billion in 2012.

The first three months of 2012, taken together, were also warmer than average, with numerous cities experiencing a record warm January-March, including Chicago, Boston and Washington, D.C. In addition to warmth, weather so far this year has also been drier than normal for the lower 48 states overall. [Was It Climate Change?]

You can follow Live Science senior writer Wynne Parry on Twitter @Wynne_Parry. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

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Wynne was a reporter at The Stamford Advocate. She has interned at Discover magazine and has freelanced for The New York Times and Scientific American's web site. She has a masters in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Utah.