RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - In stark contrast to March 2012 (which was our second hottest on record), March 2013 in Richmond was abnormally cold, wet and snowy. But was it "extreme" enough to claim a ranking amongst the top ten coldest, wettest, or snowiest Marches on record? The answers are no, no and no!
Here is the break-down of the March 2013 numbers:
The 10th coldest March on record for Richmond was in 1969 with an average monthly temperature of 42.24 degrees Fahrenheit.
The 10th wettest March on record for Richmond was in 1998 with 6.72" that month.
The 10th snowiest March on record for Richmond was in 1907 with 6.4" of snowfall that month.
So we were pretty close in all three categories, but not close enough to outpace these other years.
Here are more stats from the National Weather Service in Wakefield:
An upper-level pattern persisted much of this March, keeping us abnormally cool and wet. This pattern consisted of blocking features (like a negative Arctic Oscillation and North Atlantic Oscillation), which usually means a cooler and wetter pattern for the Mid-Atlantic.
This pattern will finally break down after this week, with more seasonable weather expected the rest of April, punctuated by typical temperature swings associated with passing storm systems.
Meteorologist Carrie Rose
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