By Chuck Otte
Geary County Extension Agent ( Ret. )
The best way to describe the weather for March would be to call it a dry roller coaster ride. There was an 83 degree spread between the highest and lowest temperatures for the month and they occurred 5 days apart!
The average daily high for March was 66.3, which is 10.2 degrees above average. The average low was 35.2, 2.4 degrees above normal. This resulted in a monthly mean temperature of 50.7 which was 6.3 degrees above normal. The good news is that March was not the hottest March on record, in fact it was only the fifth hottest. The bad news is that all five of the hottest March’s on record have occurred since 2007. The hottest March was in 2012 with a monthly average temperature of 57.5 degrees. The coldest March was in 1960 with a monthly average temperature of 31.3!
Prior to this year there had been exactly one day during the month of March that the temperature had hit 90 or above. On March 29th, 1967, the afternoon high reached 90. We hit 90 or above twice during the month. Over the last 40 years, March averages one day per year with a high temperature over 80 and six days per year with daily high temperatures over 70. This year we hit 70 or above on 13 days and 80 or above on 7 days. Over that same 40-year period we have had exactly 7 days during the month of March where a temperature of 85 or above occurred. In 2026, March had 6 days with temperatures of 85 or above. Had it not been for 4 quite cold days mid-month, 2026 would have probably been one of the three hottest Marchs on record.
The coldest temperature for the month was the morning low of 12 on March 16th. Five days later we had the highest temperature for the month: 95 on the 21st. The low of 12 on the 16th set a new record low for that date. The old record low was 18 set in 1962 and again in 1979. There were four record highs for the month. 89 on the 20th broke the old record of 84 set in 1952. 95 on the 21st broke the record of 84 set in 1988 and also set a new record high for the entire month of March. The high of 92 on the 24th broke the old record of 81 set in 1963 and 1967. Lastly, the high of 89 on the 30th broke the old record of 85 set in 1968 and 1986. While it may not have been the hottest March on record, it will long be remembered for it’s high temperatures!
March is normally the start of thunderstorm and severe storm season. Average rainfall for March is 2.0 inches, and long-term average snowfall is 3.1 inches. We had no snow for March and will likely end the snowfall season with 10 inches of snow, well below our long-term average of 18 inches during the snowfall season. Rainfall was almost as bleak with only 0.59" managing to be recorded and all of that occurred in the first two weeks of the month. Year to date we are at 2.44 inches of precipitation, well below our long-term average year to date precipitation of 3.83 inches. As we head into our spring season this is a worrisome trend.
While April normally starts to bring us warmer temperatures, I think many would be happy with normal April temperatures! Average daily highs during April range from 63 on April Fool’s Day and end the month at 68. Overnight lows range from 38 on the 1st to 47 on the 30th. We normally expect April showers to bring us 3.15 inches of rain. April sometimes can still bring us snow with long term average April snowfall at about three quarters of an inch.