March: In Like a Lion and Out Like a Lamb

“March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb”. This old proverb refers to March’s famously changeable weather.

As a month where we transition from winter to spring, March can often start off cold and blustery, but end warm and calm. From the beginning to the end of the month, the average daily temperature increases by 10°F. Exact conditions, of course, vary from year to year.

Although the precise origins of this popular phrase are unknown, many believe it is based on the constellations. At the beginning of March, Leo (lion) is highest in the midnight sky, while Aries (ram) begins to rise toward the end of the month.

Credit: The New Yorker

Feb 2020: Above Average Temps and Below Average Snow in NYC

February 2020 was not only a month of weather whiplash in New York City, but it was also a month for the record books in terms of above-average temperatures and below-average snowfall.

Of its twenty-nine days, twenty-two produced above-average temperatures, including one that was record warm. This unseasonable heat helped drive the city’s mean temperature for the month up to 40.1°F, which is 4.8°F above normal. That means February 2020 tied February 1954 as the fifth warmest February on record in the Big Apple. The top spot belongs to February 2018, when the average temperature for the month was 42°F.

February is usually the city’s snowiest month on the calendar, but this year only a trace of snow (less than 0.1 inches) was measured in Central Park. That makes February 2020 the second least-snowy February on record. Only 1998 produced less snow, with a definitive 0.0 inches. On average, February brings the city 9.2 inches of snow.

Rainfall was also somewhat scarce. Only 2.54 inches was reported. That is 0.55 below normal for the month.

Credit: The Weather Gamut