MARCH TEMPERATURES SECOND WARMEST ON RECORD FOR U.S.,
GLOBAL MARCH TEMPERATURE FIFTH WARMEST ON RECORD

March 2007 was more than five degrees F warmer than average throughout the contiguous U.S., making it the second warmest March on record, according to scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Precipitation was above average in much of the center of the nation, while the Southeast and much of the West were drier than average. The global average March temperature was fifth warmest on record.

U.S. Temperature Highlights

For the contiguous U.S., last month's average temperature of 48.1° degrees F made it the second warmest March on record (based on preliminary data). It was 5.6° degrees F (3.1° degrees C) warmer than the 20th century mean of 42.5° degrees F (5.8° degrees C). Only March 1910 was warmer in the 113-year national record.

Statewide temperatures were much warmer than average from parts of the Midwest and Deep South to the Northern Plains and West Coast. Most Northeast states and Florida were near average, while no contiguous U.S. state was cooler than average for the month. The month tied for the warmest on record for Oklahoma.

More than 2,500 daily record-high temperatures were set from the East to the West Coast during the month. On March 13 alone, more than 250 daily high temperature records were set. The earliest high of 90° degrees F (32° degrees C) occurred in Las Vegas that day. For March, more than 200 daily record highs of 90° degrees F or greater were registered in California, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, and areas of the Southeast.

The warmer-than-average March temperatures helped reduce residential energy needs for the nation. Using the Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index (REDTI - an index developed at NOAA to relate energy usage to climate), the nation's residential energy demand was approximately 11 percent lower than what would have occurred under average climate conditions for the month. Alaska had its third coldest March on record, with a temperature 12.5° degrees F (6.9° degrees C) cooler than average. Also, 40 new daily record-low temperatures were tied, or broken, during March throughout the state.

U.S. Precipitation Highlights

Precipitation was above average from parts of the Northeast to the upper Midwest and from the northern Plains to Texas and New Mexico. Much needed rain helped end drought in large parts of Texas. For Texas, it was the wettest March on record.

Across the Deep South and Southeast, drier-than-average conditions prevailed for a second straight month, worsening drought conditions. Six states were much drier than average from Louisiana and Arkansas to Florida. It was the second driest March on record for Mississippi and the third driest for Alabama.

At the end of March, severe drought stretched from southeastern Mississippi to northwest Georgia and Tennessee and also affected southern Florida.

The combination of unusual warmth and below-average snowfall during much of the month led to a continued deterioration of mountain snowpack conditions in California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah.

At the end of March, mountain snowpack was less than 50 percent of average in parts of every state in the West and less than 25 percent of average in several states.

In Los Angeles, the lack of rainfall led to the driest water-year to date for the city since records began in 1877. From July 1, 2006, through the end of March, downtown Los Angeles had received only 2.47 inches of rain, almost one foot below the normal amount of rainfall for the period.

In the West, where mountain snowpack is relied upon to supply water needs throughout the region, below-average rain and snowfall have become increasingly common. In only two of the past nine years has snowpack on April 1 been at or above the long-term average in at least half the region.

Near the end of March, approximately 33 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in moderate to exceptional drought, according to the federal U.S. Drought Monitor. The most severe conditions were in northern Alabama, southern California, western Arizona, parts of the western High Plains and extreme northern Minnesota.

Global Highlights

The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for March was the fifth warmest on record (1.10 degrees F/0.61° degrees C above the 20th century mean). For the January-March year-to-date period, the global surface temperature was second warmest on record. This was slightly cooler than the same 3-month period in 2002. The El Niño episode that began in September 2006 rapidly weakened in February and neutral conditions were present in March.

Separately, the global March land-surface temperature was the fourth warmest on record, while the ocean-surface temperature tied for sixth warmest in the 128-year period of record, approximately 0.2° degrees F (0.1° degrees C) cooler than the record established during the very strong El Niño episode of 1997-1998.

During the past century, global surface temperatures have increased at a rate near 0.11° degrees F (0.06 ° degrees C) per decade, but the rate of increase has been three times larger since 1976, or 0.32° degrees F (0.18° degrees C) per decade, with some of the largest temperature increases occurring in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Commission of Fish and Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA. NOAA 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 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

Note to Editors: March 2007 data, graphics and analysis, are online at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2007/mar/mar07.html.