384
CXUS51 KBUF 040243
CLMROC
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
1012 AM EDT WED APR 01 2026
...............................
..THE ROCHESTER NY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH 2026
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1871 TO 2026
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR'S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
............................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 86 03/29/1905
LOW -9 03/06/2014
HIGHEST 73 03/07 77 03/19
LOWEST 10 03/02 8 03/02
AVG. MAXIMUM 49.5 43.6 5.9 51.8
AVG. MINIMUM 29.2 26.8 2.4 29.6
MEAN 39.4 35.2 4.2 40.7
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 3 5.8 -2.8 1
DAYS MIN <= 32 23 23.2 -0.2 21
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.2 -0.2 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 7.02 1873
MINIMUM 0.47 1958
TOTALS 5.89 2.49 3.40 2.30
DAYS >= .01 15 17
DAYS >= .10 9 5
DAYS >= .50 4 2
DAYS >= 1.00 1 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.66 03/30 TO 03/31 0.54 03/16 TO 03/17
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 54.0 1900
TOTALS 6.2 17.9 -11.7 4.0
SINCE 7/1 113.8 98.9 14.9 MM
SNOWDEPTH AVG. 0 0
DAYS >= 1.0 2 4.1 -2.1 2
DAYS >= 0.1 7 7
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH 3 03/17 1 03/03
03/07
03/08
24 HR TOTAL 3.4 03/16 TO 03/16 1.2 03/01 TO 03/02
DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 788 924 -136 745
SINCE 7/1 5677 5446 231 MM
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 MM
............................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 11.0
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 40/270
40/260
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 65/290 DATE 03/11
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.78
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 1
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 11
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 19
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 69
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 3 MIXED PRECIP 1
HEAVY RAIN 4 RAIN 8
LIGHT RAIN 18 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 3 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 1 SNOW 2
LIGHT SNOW 16 SLEET 2
FOG 17 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 3
HAZE 2
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
.. WARM AND WET MONTH OF MARCH
AFTER A METEOROLOGICAL WINTER THAT FEATURED PLENTY OF ARCTIC AIR,
MILD DAYS RULED THE MONTH OF MARCH, THE FIRST MONTH OF
METEOROLOGICAL SPRING, WITH COLD STRETCHES LIMITED TO JUST TWO OR
THREE DAYS THROUGHOUT THE MONTH. IT WAS ALSO A WET MONTH WITH
SEVERAL RAINY DAYS EVENLY SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE MONTH WITH A RECORD
BREAKING PRECIPITATION EVENT ON THE 31ST PUSHING THE MONTH TO 4TH
WETTEST ON RECORD. SNOW WAS LACKING WITH MOST OF THE SNOW FOR THE
MONTH FALLING IN JUST ONE EVENT MID-MONTH.
THE TEMPERATURE THIS MONTH AVERAGED 39.4°F WHICH IS JUST OVER FOUR
DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. A 6 DAY STRETCH FROM THE 6TH THROUGH THE 11TH
CARRIED THIS WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURE MONTH, WITH THESE 6 DAYS
AVERAGING 20.5 DEGREES ABOVE THEIR DAILY NORMAL TEMPERATURE. THE 9
DAYS REACHING 60F OR WARMER RANKED 8TH GREATEST FOR THE MONTH OF
MARCH. THERE WERE THREE RECORD TEMPERATURES THIS MONTH. THE MAXIMUM
TEMPERATURE ON THE 7TH OF 73°F SMASHED THE OLD RECORD OF 68°F, WHILE
THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE ON THE 7TH OF 51°F TOPPLED THE FORMER RECORD
OF 50°F SET BACK IN 1876. THE 69°F TEMPERATURE ON THE 10TH ALSO
BROKE THE FORMER RECORD OF 68°F LAST SET BACK IN 2021.
PRECIPITATION TOTALED 5.89 INCHES, 4TH WETTEST ON RECORD FOR THE
MONTH OF MARCH. THIS IS THE WETTEST MONTH SINCE JUNE OF 2025. THE
FOUR DAYS TALLYING MORE THAN A HALF AN INCH OF PRECIPITATION IS TIED
FOR FOURTH GREATEST ALL-TIME FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH. THERE WERE TWO
PRECIPITATION RECORDS ESTABLISHED. THE 0.95 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION
ON THE 11TH BROKE THE FORMER RECORD OF 0.92 INCHES SET BACK IN 1936.
ADDITIONALLY, THE 1.65 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION ON THE 31ST BROKE THE
FORMER RECORD OF 1.22 INCHES SET BACK IN 2017. DESPITE THE 4TH
GREATEST PRECIPITATION TOTAL FOR THE MONTH, THERE WERE ONLY 15 DAYS
WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION, ONE DAY FEWER THAN THE MONTHLY
NORMAL. SNOW ACCUMULATION FOR THE MONTH TOTALED 6.2 INCHES WHICH IS
ALMOST A FOOT BELOW NORMAL. MOST OF THE SNOW FELL IN ONE EVENT, THIS
ON THE 16TH AND INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF THE 17TH OF THE
MONTH.
A FLOW OF COLD AIR CONTINUED FROM THE WINTER MONTHS INTO THE FIRST
FEW DAYS OF MARCH, WITH BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES ON THE FIRST
THREE DAYS OF THE MONTH. A FEW SNOW SHOWERS ON THE 1ST COATED THE
GROUND IN SNOW. A WARMING TREND STARTED ON THE 3RD, AND CULMINATED
ON THE 7TH WHEN THE THERMOMETER HIT 73 DEGREES. THIS WAS THE FIRST
70 DEGREE READING OF THE YEAR, AND OCCURRED ABOUT FOUR WEEKS EARLIER
THAN NORMAL. ENDING THE WARMTH WAS A STRONG COLD FRONT LATER ON THE
7TH, ONE THAT BORE SHOWERS AND A FEW SOUTHERN TIER SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS THAT BROUGHT DOWN TREES. SEVERAL ROUNDS OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS ON THE 11TH THROUGH THE DAYLIGHT HOURS TOTALED NEARLY
AN INCH OF RAINFALL AT THE ROCHESTER AIRPORT. THE 11TH THROUGH THE
17TH ALSO FEATURED A WINDY PERIOD FOR THE MONTH, WITH 5 OF THE 7
DATES GUSTING OVER 50 MPH. TEMPERATURES ON THE 16TH SOARED TO THE
MID 60S BY EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS BEFORE A STRONG COLD FRONT PASSED
THROUGH, WITH WINTER'S CHILL FOLLOWING ALONG WITH SEVERAL INCHES OF
SNOW. ADDITIONAL WAVES OF RAIN FROM PASSING STORM SYSTEMS BUILT
MARCH TO THE FOURTH WETTEST ON RECORD, WITH THESE EVENTS OCCURRING
ON THE 20TH, 22ND, 26TH AND LASTLY LATE ON THE 30TH AND THE 31ST OF
THE MONTH WHEN WIDESPREAD TWO TO THREE INCHES OF RAIN FLOODED PARTS
OF WNY. AREA CREEKS SWELLED WITH SEVERAL CREEKS AND RIVERS IN THE
GENESEE VALLEY BREACHING THEIR BANKS WITH MINOR TO MODERATE
FLOODING. THIS BROUGHT SEVERAL ROAD CLOSURES ACROSS THE REGION.
ADDITIONALLY ON THE FINAL DAY OF THE MONTH A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
PASSED FROM LAKE ERIE INLAND WITH LARGE AND NUMEROUS HAIL ALONG WITH
DAMAGING WIND GUSTS ACROSS SOUTHERN ERIE AND NORTHERN CATTARAUGUS
COUNTIES, AND LATER SPAWNED AN EF-1 TORNADO NEAR MACHIAS. THIS WAS
THE FIRST MARCH TORNADO IN NEW YORK STATE SINCE 1976.
LAKE WATER TEMPERATURES REMAINED IN THE MID TO UPPER 30S THROUGH THE
MONTH. WIND SPEED WAS ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE MONTH, WITH THE FIVE
DATES WITH WIND GUSTS OVER 50 MPH OCCURRING FOR JUST THE SECOND TIME
SINCE 2007. THE OTHER TIME WAS JUST TWO MONTHS PRIOR IN JANUARY. THE
STRONGEST GUST WAS 65 MPH OCCURRING DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS OF
THE 11TH, IN CONJUNCTION WITH A STRONG COLD FRONT PASSAGE.
IN ALL, AN ACTIVE MONTH WITH SEVERAL LARGE RAIN EVENTS ENDING THE
MONTH WITH FLOODING.
THOMAS
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.
Main Text Page