March 2013 Climate Report for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

March 2013 Highlights

New Records for March 2013

San Juan

Date New Record Previous Record
 March 22nd A record high temperature of 93 °F. This broke the previous record of 92°F set back in 1983. 
 March 26th A record high temperature of 92 °F. This tied the previous record of 92°F set back in 1984.
March 27th A record high temperature of 90 °F. This tied the previous record of 90°F set back in 1958 and 1941. 
March 2013 March ended as the ninth warmest March on record with an average temperature of 79.5°F. March 1983 continued to be the warmest March on record with an average temperature of 82.2°F.

 

Saint Croix   

Date New Record Previous Record
March 1st  A record low temperature of 65 °F. This tied the previous record of 65°F set back in 1975. 
March 2nd A record low temperature of 65°F. This broke the previous record of 66°F set back in 2001.
March 5th A 24hr rainfall record of 0.39". This broke the previous record of 0.30" set back in 1974.
March 16th A record low temperature of 64°F. This broke the previous record of 65°F set back in 1995.
March 31st A 24hr rainfall record of 1.19". This broke the previous record of 1.18" set back in 1989.
March 2013 March ended as the tenth coolest March on record with an average temperature of 77.1°F March 1951 continued to be the coolest March on record with an average temperature of 75.8°F.
March 2013 March ended as the ninth wettest March on record with 2.49". March 1985 continued to be the wettest March on record with 4.15".

March 2013 Statistics

 Average March Temperatures/Precipitation (NCDC 1981-2010 averages):

  San Juan Saint Thomas Saint Croix
High 84.9°F 85.9°F 84.6°F
Low 72.9°F 72.8°F 72.5°F
Avg. T 78.9°F 79.4°F 78.6°F
Pcpn. 1.95’’ 1.42’’ 1.56’’

  March 2013 Observations:

  San Juan Saint Thomas Saint Croix
High 85.7°F(+0.8°F) 83.3°F(-2.6°F)
84.0°F(-0.6°F)
Low 73.2°F(+0.3°F) 73.4°F(+0.6°F) 70.3°F(-2.2°F)
Avg. T 79.5°F(+0.6°F) 78.3°F(-1.1°F) 77.1°F(-1.5°F)
Pcpn. 1.92" (-0.03") 1.50" (+0.08") 2.49" (+0.93")

March 2013 Extremes:

  San Juan Saint Thomas Saint Croix
High 93°F March 22nd  88 °F March 28th  86°F March 29th, 28th and 27th 
Low 71°F March 15th,14th and 9th   69°F March 2nd  64°F March 16th

Monthly Summary 

     A generally fair and mainly stable weather pattern prevailed across the local islands during the first half of March, with mostly clear to partly cloudy skies and minimal shower activity. The local weather pattern changed a bit by mid-month, when afternoon showers began to develop across portions of the Cordillera Central each day. However, the limited low level moisture helped to suppress significant shower activity across the forecast area. Scattered to locally numerous showers were finally seen across the local islands during the last weekend of the month. These showers were associated with a cold front that dissipated across the local islands and left considerable rainfall amounts across northeast Puerto Rico. 

Rainfall Accumulations Year to Date (YTD)    

 

Figure A – Graphical Display of precipitation for March 2013 across Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands derived from a combination of rain gage and radar data.

 

Figure B – Graphical Display of YTD precipitation across Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands derived from a combination of rain gage and radar data.

 

Figure C – Graphical display of departure from normal precipitation YTD.

March Historical Statistics              

Highest  March Temperatures on record:

San Juan Saint Thomas Saint Croix
 96°F March 19th, 1983 94°F  March 27th, 1994*  92°F  March 5th, 1996 
95°F  March 30th, 1984   93°F  March 31st, 1996*  91°F  March 24th,1973*
94°F  March 21st, 1983*   92°F  March 25th, 1996* 90°F  March 22nd, 1996 *

* Most Recent Occurrence

Lowest March Temperatures on record: 

San Juan Saint Thomas Saint Croix
 60°F  March 3rd, 1957  59°F  March 27th, 1972  60°F  March 29th, 1977
 61°F  March 6th, 1970*  60°F  March 30th, 1972* 62°F  March 20th, 1982* 
62°F  March 3rd, 1962*  61°F march 29th, 1972  63°F  March 12th, 2009* 

* Most Recent Occurrence

Wettest  Marches:

San Juan Saint Thomas Saint Croix
 9.38" 1927 4.37" 1961  4.15" 1985 
 9.27" 2012 3.95" 2012  3.79" 2012 
7.18" 1913  3.73" 1963  3.41" 1972 

Driest Marches:

San Juan Saint Thomas Saint Croix
 0.00" 2005  0.01" 2008 0.17" 1951 
 0.45" 1951 0.36" 1956  0.29" 2003 
0.46" 1924  0.44" 1984   0.39" 2005

Decadal March Observations for San Juan, Puerto Rico

  2010-2013 2000’s 1990’s 1980’s 1970’s 1960’s
High 84.9°F 84.8°F 84.8°F 85.4°F 84.3°F 83.8°F
Low 72.6°F 72.4°F 71.4°F 71.9°F 72.4°F 70.2°F
Avg. T 78.7°F 78.6°F 78.1°F 78.6°F 78.4°F 77.0°F
Pcpn. 3.89" 1.57’’ 1.82’’ 2.29’’ 2.32’’ 2.36’’

Looking ahead toward the month of April 

Average April Temperatures/Precipitation (NCDC 1981-2010 averages):

  San Juan Saint Thomas Saint Croix
High 86.2°F 87.0°F 85.7°F
Low 74.4°F 74.3°F 74.2°F
Avg. T 80.3°F 80.6°F 80.0°F
Pcpn. 4.68’’ 2.74’’ 2.13’’

Precipitation Outlook for April-May-June (click here for details)

 

El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion

ENSO-neutral is favored into the northern hemisphere summer 2013 (click here for details) .

Moon/Sun/Tide Data for the month of April

Sunrise/sunset data, phase of the moon, as well as tide data can all be found by going to the climate portion of the National Weather Service San Juan Climate homepage and then clicking on the astronomical tab.  

 

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