By Chuck Otte
Geary County Extension Agent
While it may not continue on into April and May, it was a great relief to have above normal precipitation for the area in March. After four consecutive months of below normal precipitation, having a month that was nearly 50% above normal was a true blessing. Other than that, March was pretty much “normal”.
The average daily high for March was 56.3, 0.2 of a degree above normal. The average overnight low was 33.6, 0.8 of a degree above normal. This gave us a monthly mean temperature of 45.0, 0.6 of a degree above normal. Many local residents have commented that spring is late this year. In reality, this year is far more normal than the past couple of springs. March of 2021 was 4.7 degrees above normal and March 2020 was 4.2 degrees above normal.
This resulted in the past two years having spring being early. While we have had some warm days, they have often been immediately followed by normal or below normal temperatures which have kept plant development slowed to a more normal pace. The highest temperature in March was 82 on the 29th. The lowest temperature was the morning low of 8 on the 12th. There was one temperature record set during March. The low of 56 on the 21st set a new record high low temperature for that date. The old record was 53 set in 2011. The hottest March on record was in 2012 when we had a monthly mean temperature of 57.5, 12.5 degrees warmer than this year. The coldest March was in 1960 when we had a monthly mean temperature of 31.3, 13.7 degrees colder than this year.
Four different precipitation events were spaced nicely throughout the month and resulted in a total of 2.94 inches or liquid precipitation at Milford Lake and 2.64 inches in Junction City. Normal for March is 2.00 inches. This helped reduce the year to date deficit we have experienced. Normal precipitation for January through March is 3.83 and we’ve received 3.36 inches at Milford Lake and 3.64 inches in Junction City.
Two of those precipitation events involved snow. March snowfall was 7.3 inches, well above the average March snowfall of 3.1 inches. This gave us a seasonal total of 14.9 inches. This is still below the long term average of 17.3 inches. And yes, April can have snow with a long term average of 0.7 of an inch and even May has a long term average of 0.1 of an inch.
April brings us our average last frost date, but not our frost free date, as well as increasing precipitation. Average daily highs for April increase from 63 on the 1st to 68 on the 30th. Average overnight low on April Fool’s Day is 38 and has warmed to 47 by the end of the month. Average last frost date is April 15th. However, since 1949 that has ranged from as early as March 10, in 2012, to as late as May 14, in 1953. Analyzing the last frost date using a 30 year moving average, we find that the last frost date has moved earlier by nearly a full week over the last 40 years. However, we still generally feel that our frost free date is around May 10th. Average April rainfall is 3.15 inches as we move into thunderstorm and severe weather season.