Ithaca Climate Summary for March 1997

Temperature

• With an average temperature of 32.8 degrees, the month of March fell just 0.1 degrees cooler than normal.
• This was the first month since November to report a negative monthly departure.
• The month averaged 4.4 degrees warmer than March 1996.
• The first six days of the month were unseasonably warm, as were six of the last seven days. Nearly every day in between, however, was cooler than normal.
• The warmest reading of the month was 71 degrees on the 28th.
• The coldest temperature of the month was 6 degrees on the 9th.

Precipitation

• The total precipitation for the month was 2.18 inches, which was 96% of the monthly normal.
• This was just 0.09 inches less than Ithaca received in March 1996.

Snowfall

• The monthly snowfall total was 4.9 inches, which was less than half of the March normal of 10.2 inches.
• An additional 4.3 inches fell after the 8am observation time on March 31. Due to observational practices, this amount will be included in the April total.
• This month¹s total was 14 inches less than the amount received last March.
• The seasonal total through the end of March stands at 46.2 inches, which is 16.8 inches less than normal.
• This total exceeds the amount measured between October and March during 3 of the last 10 winters.
• The greatest depth of snow on the ground during the month was 3 inches on the 31st.
• Amounts for surrounding communities included 8.1 inches in Groton.