NOAA: U.S. Temperatures Near Average in March as Global Land Temperature Sets Record

Western U.S. Snowpack Healthiest in a Decade

April 17, 2008

An analysis by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center shows that the average temperature for March in the contiguous United States ranked near average for the past 113 years. It was the 63rd warmest March since record-keeping began in the United States in 1895.

The average global land temperature last month was the warmest on record and ocean surface temperatures were the 13th warmest. Combining the land and the ocean temperatures, the overall global temperature ranked the second warmest for the month of March. Global temperature averages have been recorded since 1880.

The complete analysis is available online.

March 2008 Statewide Temperature Ranks.

High Resolution (Credit: NOAA)

U.S. Temperature Highlights

U.S. Precipitation Highlights

March 2008 Statewide Precipitation Ranks.

High Resolution (Credit: NOAA)

Global Highlights

 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.