692
CXUS51 KBUF 040234
CLMBUF
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
1012 AM EDT WED APR 01 2026
...............................
..THE BUFFALO 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 82 03/21/2012
LOW -7 03/08/1984
HIGHEST 72 03/07 76 03/19
LOWEST 11 03/02 10 03/02
AVG. MAXIMUM 47.1 41.8 5.3 50.8
AVG. MINIMUM 29.3 26.4 2.9 29.8
MEAN 38.2 34.1 4.1 40.3
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 4 6.4 -2.4 1
DAYS MIN <= 32 22 22.7 -0.7 20
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.3 -0.3 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 7.03 1936
MINIMUM 0.68 1910
TOTALS 6.33 2.89 3.44 1.85
DAYS >= .01 15 13
DAYS >= .10 10 5
DAYS >= .50 5 1
DAYS >= 1.00 3 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.58 03/30 TO 03/31 0.58 03/05 TO 03/05
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 38.5 1936
TOTALS 4.5 14.1 -9.6 1.2
SINCE 7/1 92.5 92.9 -0.4
SNOWDEPTH AVG. 0 -1
DAYS >= 1.0 1 3.6 -2.6 0
DAYS >= 0.1 5 3
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH 2 03/17 MM 03/04
03/01
03/08
24 HR TOTAL 3.4 03/16 TO 03/17
DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 822 958 -136 758
SINCE 7/1 5623 5576 47 MM
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 MM
............................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 11.2
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 43/230
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 58/260 DATE 03/14
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 2
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 9
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 20
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 71
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 4 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 4 RAIN 5
LIGHT RAIN 14 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 2 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 1 SNOW 2
LIGHT SNOW 10 SLEET 0
FOG 19 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 5
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 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 2ND 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 38.2°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 19 DEGREES ABOVE THEIR DAILY NORMAL TEMPERATURE. THE 8
DAYS REACHING 60°F OR WARMER RANKED 9TH GREATEST FOR THE MONTH OF
MARCH. THERE WAS ONE RECORD TEMPERATURE, WITH THE 50°F READING ON
THE 7TH TYING WITH 1973 FOR WARMEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE ON RECORD.
PRECIPITATION TOTALED 6.33 INCHES, 2ND WETTEST ON RECORD FOR THE
MONTH OF MARCH. THIS IS THE WETTEST MONTH SINCE DECEMBER OF 2022.
THE FIVE DAYS TALLYING MORE THAN A HALF AN INCH OF PRECIPITATION IS
TIED FOR SECOND GREATEST ALL-TIME FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH. THERE WERE
TWO PRECIPITATION RECORDS ESTABLISHED. THE 1.11 INCHES OF
PRECIPITATION ON THE 11TH BROKE THE FORMER RECORD OF 0.85 INCHES SET
BACK IN 1884. ADDITIONALLY, THE 1.34 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION ON THE
31ST BROKE THE FORMER RECORD OF 1.33 INCHES SET BACK IN 1886.
DESPITE THE 2ND GREATEST PRECIPITATION TOTAL FOR THE MONTH, THERE
WERE ONLY 15 DAYS WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION, ONE DAY FEWER THAN
THE MONTHLY NORMAL. THE THREE DATES WITH OVER AN INCH OF
PRECIPITATION WAS THE FIRST SUCH OCCURRENCE OF MULTIPLE DATES WITH
OVER AN INCH OF PRECIPITATION IN THE MONTH OF MARCH. SNOW
ACCUMULATION FOR THE MONTH TOTALED 4.5 INCHES WHICH IS OVER NINE
INCHES BELOW NORMAL. MOST OF THE SNOW FELL IN ONE EVENT, THIS ON THE
16TH 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 TWO
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 72 DEGREES. THIS WAS THE FIRST 70
DEGREE READING OF THE YEAR, AND OCCURRED ABOUT THREE AND A HALF
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 OVER AN INCH OF RAINFALL AT THE BUFFALO AIRPORT. THE 11TH
THROUGH THE 16TH ALSO FEATURED A WINDY PERIOD FOR THE MONTH, WITH 5
OF THE 6 DATES GUSTING OVER 50 MPH. TEMPERATURES ON THE 16TH SOARED
TO THE LOWER 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 SECOND 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 THE BUFFALO CREEKS,
TONAWANDA RIVER AND CREEKS OF THE GENESEE VALLEY ALL REACHING 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 ICE SLOWLY RETREATED ON LAKE ERIE THIS MONTH, WITH A STILL
SIZABLE SHEET OF ICE LINGERING NEAR THE NORTHEAST END OF THE LAKE.
WIND SPEED WAS NORMAL FOR THE MONTH, THOUGH THE SIX DATES WITH WIND
GUSTS OVER 50 MPH WAS A FIRST-TIME OCCURRENCE SINCE AT LEAST 2007.
THE STRONGEST GUST WAS 56 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
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