A very cold morning for March greeted Mainers today and even the hardiest of winter enthusiasts is likely getting tired of the cold.  While not one of the top 10 coldest winters in record, the cold seems to be lingering longer this year.   According to the National Weather Service in Gray, yesterday was the coldest March day since the 8th of the month back in 2007.

Overall, winters aren’t as cold as they were in the first half of the 20^th century, so for younger people this winter might be the coldest.   For those of you who experienced the winters of the 1930s 40s or 50s, the memory may have faded enough to forget how cold it was back then.

Even the winters of the mid to late 1970s and early 80s were colder on balance.  The record in Portland this morning is 21 below zero and the Jetport wasn’t even as low as zero today.   That record was set way back in 1950, at a time when Casco Bay would still freeze over. Nonetheless, perception is reality and this seems like an unusually cold winter to many of us.   

A couple of weak systems go by the area tonight perhaps on Wednesday night and therefore you will see snow showers or flurries in the forecast.  Any accumulation will be light and insignificant under an inch, with a dusting being more likely.

The dry weather continues through the weekend and into early next week with a slow lessening of the cold, but no signs of any spring-like warmth.

Late winter often brings some of the biggest snow events of the season to northern New England.  This is especially true for the mountains where they count on the heavy snow to keep the ski season going well into April.

On the reasons for the big storms is the milder air of spring and the cold air of winter often meet over this part of the country in March.  This year, so far, the cold air is so strong and so far south, it has pushed the storm track hundreds of miles away.   This is why we are remaining mostly on the dry side during a time of year when it’s typically quite stormy.

There are many long-range models to choose from when looking at how temperatures will average the rest of the month.   Most of them keep our temperatures significantly colder than average overall.  This means although we can see some spring-like temperatures this month, the cold will, overall, win out.   The map below shows projected temperature anomalies (above or below normal) for March.  The green and blue areas are colder than normal.   This forecast projects Maine to be up to 6 degrees below normal for March!  This is likely overdone, but does give us a good idea it’s not going to be an early spring.

While temperatures and snow are not predictable we do know precisely how much more light we will see this month.  The amount of light we are gaining each day is increasing at the fastest rate of the year. Next week the gap between sunrise and sunset grows at 3 minutes each day and continues at this pace through the 28^th of the month. 

This is why March brings the largest increase in daylight of any month of the year.   While it won’t feel like spring this weekend, we do spring forward.  For early risers like me this means three weeks of getting up in the dark again.  For those of you coming home from work at 5 or 6 PM, you’ll get to enjoy some sunshine on the back end of the day.   In some years the added light in March allows a quick game of catch in the backyard, but this year, you might want to think about an hour of ice fishing or snowshoeing. 

You can tweet me your questions and comments about weather and gardening @growingwisdom. Follow @growingwisdom

Copy the Story Link