At the start of March, we talked about how the month can bring bitter cold, heat, flooding, snow and beautiful weather. March is a transition month. During the spring, a northerly flow can still bring bitter cold, but when the southerlies take over, we can soar to the 70s or higher.

This year, the southerlies ruled the weather on most days as we ended the month with an average temperature of 39.3 degrees. This monthly average takes into account the high temperature and low temperature for each day recorded at the official National Weather Service observation site at the Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport.

10 days were below average, and five of them occurred in the first week. We went from a low of 14 degrees on March 8 to a record-tying 68 on March 10 and a record high of 71 the next day.

After seesawing a little above to a little below average for the next 10 days with a paltry 0.04 inch of precipitation, we again saw a big warmup.

From the 21st to the 31st, our daily average temperature was well above the long-term 30-year average. The only exception was the 29th when we were at average. Although we were quite warm during that stretch, we set no records, which date back to the 1870s.

Precipitation was below average with just 1.02 inches recorded, making March 2021 the eighth-driest on record.

Snowfall was a dismal 1.4 inches, tied for fourth-least. We average 16.3 inches.

Since we have hills, the Finger Lakes, and the Great Lake Ontario, conditions in your neighborhood may vary significantly from the official readings.