Warmest weather in history in Syracuse
March 2012 is the 12th month in a row where temperatures have been above normal to well above normal for Syracuse. In fact, this past month was the warmest March on record (since 1902). Read ahead and then leave a comment at the bottom of this web page and your opinion on our Facebook page here. The official weather data regarding October’s temperatures and precipitation is in the books. Let’s break down the numbers from Syracuse Hancock International Airport for the month of January.
If you averaged all of the high and low temperatures and compared them to normal, then March 2012 was a record and it wasn’t even close:
March’s Top Five Warmest Years (Normal: 34.2 °F):
Rank | Value | Year |
1 | 46.5 | 2012 |
2 | 44.4 | 1945 |
3 | 43.9 | 1946 |
4 | 42.6 | 1973 |
5 | 42.0 | 1903 |
The mean temperature, which is the average of all of the high temperatures and low temperatures from the month, was 46.5°. That was 12.3° warmer than normal. The average high temperature was 57.2°. The average low temperature was 35.8°.
The warmest stretch of weather occurred between March 11th and March 23rd where a number of dramatic numbers occurred:
• All 13 days were at least 60° or higher.
• There was a 6 day stretch where the high was at least 70° (March 18th to 23rd).
• There were two 80³ days (March 18th, 21st)
• There were 6 record highs set with 4 of them on consecutive days (March 7, 12, 18-21)
• There were 3 record high minimum temperatures set (March 19, 21, 22)
The coldest stretch of weather occurred on March 5th where the low temperature reached 13°
Other temperature notes for January:
• There were only 3 days where average temperature was 5° below normal.
• Conversly, there were 21 days where the average temperature was 5° above normal.
• There were 20 days where the average temperature was 10° above normal.
• There were 10 days where the average temperature was 20° above normal.
• There were 4 days where the average temperature was 29-31° above normal.
January precipitation was below normal for liquid precipitation and below normal for snowfall. A look at the raw numbers shows that Syracuse received 1.96” of rain and melted snow. This was only 0.99 below normal. Snowfall for Syracuse was 7.2”. Normal snowfall for Hancock Airport for every March is 18.0”. While this number is nearly a foot below normal, it is no where near a record or even the top five:
March’s Top 5 Least Snowfall (Normal: 18.0"):
Rank | Value | Year |
1 | 0.0 | 2010 |
2 | 0.0 | 1927 |
3 | 0.9 | 2009 |
4 | 1.2 | 1962 |
5 | 1.4 | 1946 |
How does April look? My forecast has temperatures close to normal through April 5th. The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting a better than even chance for the next 6 to 10 days to be above normal. However, the 8 to 14 day outlook looks below normal for temperatures. Their forecast, as a whole for the month, describes a slightly better than even chance for above average temperatures and above average precipitation. I will continue to monitor how the weather changes.
Are you happy with the recent weather? Let us know with comments on our Facebook page and here on this web story. Perhaps, you would like to take a picture of your fun activity! If you do, you can always upload photos to our Facebook page and CNYcentral.com, as well.
Become my facebook friend here by “liking” my fan page, and "follow" me on Twitter here (@PeteWeatherBeat). For more on your weather forecast, click on “Weather” and then the “Live Triple Doppler Radar” tab on our weather page. Make sure you refresh the Doppler radar to see the very latest information, as well. Furthermore, we have our new Interactive Doppler Radar on our website. You can zoom down to street level with Interactive Doppler Radar. You are in total control of where the radar can zoom in. Give it a try. In addition, you may tune to NBC Weather Plus on Time Warner Cable digital channel 133 or over the air 3.3 to get the very latest weather updates locally and nationally.
