March 2024 was an unseasonably mild month that provided a much more spring-like feel. As such, wintry precip was hard to come by for most despite the frequent, active stretches of weather. Additionally, unlike February many climate sites across the Northeast ran well above their normal monthly precipitation.
The first couple weeks of meteorological spring started off very mild with highs and lows that ran as much as 10 - 20 degrees above average at times. The first week was quite active as well with multiple rain makers across the East Coast and frequent wet and dreary conditions. A low pressure system the night of the 1st into the 2nd brought widespread rainfall totals of 1" with upwards of 2" falling across parts of Southeastern New England. Ultimately, this system and a quick hitting rainmaker on the 5th acted as a primer for flooding issues within future rainfall events, as soils became overly saturated. Another rainfall event followed on the 6th bringing a bout of heavy totals from New England to areas along and south of the 95 corridor into the Mid Atlantic where 1.5 - 3" of rain fell. This led to some stream / creek flooding issues, with some rivers also reaching flood stage. Showers stuck around in the following days though largely drier conditions ensued for most before more rainfall arrived on the 9th. Localized flooding issues were again prevalent with the highest rainfall totals ranging from 1.5 - 2.5" across parts of New Jersey and New England. Moreover, it was just cold enough further north for some interior mixed snow, mainly across the higher elevation areas of the Catskills and Berkshires. Into New Hampshire and Vermont as much as 6 - 12" of snow fell.
A robust disturbance then passed by on the 10th which marked the beginnings of a prolonged high wind event that lasted well into the 11th, especially for New Jersey / Pennsylvania and into the Mid Atlantic. Here, wind gusts in excess of 40 - 50 mph were rather common leading to instances of downed trees and powerlines, along with some power outages. It also briefly trended cooler with temperatures running more seasonable to just a bit above average. This disturbance set off rather numerous snow / snow pellet showers and squalls that led to some scattered coatings across portions of the Northeast despite not being all that cold. Outside of the windy conditions persisting into the 11th a quieter weather pattern prevailed into the mid month. A pattern change then ensued as a potent cold front traversed the east coast the night of the 17th into the day on the 18th bringing in an even colder airmass with highs and lows during the third week that would run as much as 5 - 15 degrees below normal. Snow shower activity was common throughout the third week of March in the typical climo regions of the interior Northeast such as those across higher elevations and in the Poconos, Catskills, and Berkshires. This led to some occasional dustings across these regions. Elsewhere, it was a largely tranquil but chilly stretch of weather.
In addition to snow on the Pocono Plateau, rain changed to snow in northwest Sussex County. Most of this fell around 3:30 to 4:30, followed by some rumbles of thunder! Does anyone have any pictures/measurements, or other reports of snow elsewhere to pass on? #pawx #njwx https://t.co/xOcaBDWKn1
— NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) March 20, 2024
Tweet showing light snow accumulations in Northern Sussex County NJ - March 20th, 2024.
The next robust system took shape later on the 22nd and persisted well into the 23rd. Heavy rainfall and flooding issues were again the theme for much of the Northeast given widespread 2.5 - 3.5" amounts that fell along the 95 corridor. This system led to the wettest calendar day on record during the month of March at Philadelphia International Airport since record keeping began in 1872! Furthermore, it set an all time record for the wettest March ever at Atlantic City International Airport since recorded data began in 1943. Further north into interior and Northern New England, more mixed / wintry precipitation was fair game. 1 - 3" of snow fell along the Massachusetts / New Hampshire border along with some icing. In and around Albany NY and across the Capital District region several inches of snow fell with ice accretions of up to a quarter inch. The big winners from this storm included those even further north into Saratoga Springs and across portions of Vermont / New Hampshire where snow totals in excess of 1 - 2 feet occurred. Talk about a late season snowstorm! Temperatures quickly trended to more seasonable to above average levels for most into the last week of the month shutting off any wintry weather. Additionally, this stretch featured plenty of dry time outside of some occasional showers. Most notable during the last week of March was a stalled out frontal boundary on the 27th - 28th that produced heavy rainfall of 2"+ across parts of Southeastern Virginia and New England.
Tweet confirming a daily rainfall record at Philadelphia International Airport - March 23rd, 2024.Take the flooding seriously today! Its one of the record books! pic.twitter.com/jt42LqYCQw
— NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) March 23, 2024
Overall, highs and lows generally ran 4 - 7 degrees above average across most Northeast cities. Additionally, as discussed it was an abnormally wet and unsettled month with cities from Baltimore MD to Boston MA running as much as 3 - 5"+ above their normal monthly precipitation. Even across interior Pennsylvania and Maryland anomalies finished in a surplus of 1 - 2".
