The weather for March ended up about as close to normal as one can get, especially given the ups and downs of temperatures on a daily basis. The last few days of the month bounced from -8 degrees Celsius at night, going up to 9 C during the day, back down to -8 C, and then back up to 14 C.
The month was marked by many nights being warmer than normal while a good number of days were cooler than normal. Of course, it all evened out in the end with the average temperature for March settling at -1.1 C, which is close to the normal of -1.4 C. Last year the average temperature was -0.8 C, and the 50-year average is -2.1 C.
The coldest March over the last 56 years that records have been kept at the farm in Ormstown averaged -7.2 C in 2014, and the warmest was 4 C in 2012. The past winter (five months, November 2022 to March 2023) was the third warmest during the same 56-year period. This was reflected in the relative lack of frost in the ground demonstrated by the tile drains in the fields running all winter.
There were 38 millimetres of rain and 40 centimetres of snow during March, bringing total precipitation to 81 mm, or 3.25 inches, which is also about normal. For the five months of winter, average precipitation was about 20 per cent above normal, with most of the excess coming in December and January. The area received 272 cm of snow, again above normal, with most of that descending in the last week of December and throughout January.
The forecast for April is looking close to normal but with daytime highs slightly below average. No heat waves in sight, nor for the month of May.
