A cold March scene at the Observatory — mild late-winter conditions
March 2026 was a warmer-than-normal month at Blue Hill Observatory, with near-average precipitation and well below normal snowfall.
+4.3°F
Above Normal Mean Temp
74°F
Record High — March 10
−12.1″
Below Normal Snowfall
Temperatures
A record high set — and a cold start to the month.
The average maximum temperature for March was 49.2°F, a full 5.1°F above the 30-year (1991–2020) average. The average minimum came in at 30.3°F, or 3.4°F above normal. The corrected mean temperature for the month was 39.8°F — 4.3°F above average.
The highlight of the month came on March 10th, when the thermometer reached 74°F — setting a new daily record for the date, breaking the previous mark of 69°F set in 1977. It also ranked as the 6th earliest 70-degree temperature ever recorded at Blue Hill. On the other end of the spectrum, the month’s coldest reading was 8°F on March 2nd.
Climate Reference Network temperature sensors at Blue Hill Observatory.
Precipitation & Snow
Plenty of rain. Not much snow.
Total precipitation for the month was 5.08 inches, just 0.44 inches below the 30-year normal. While precipitation events were frequent, most were on the smaller side. The largest single storm brought 1.45 inches of rain on the 16th–17th, accompanied by very strong winds.
Snowfall told a different story. Blue Hill recorded only 2.9 inches of snow for the month — a remarkable 12.1 inches below normal for March, reflecting the mild temperatures that kept most precipitation falling as rain.
Wind & Sunshine
Calm on average — until it wasn’t.
Despite March typically being one of the windiest months on record at Blue Hill, the mean wind speed of 12.4 mph tied for the 4th lowest March mean wind speed on record. That calm average masked one dramatic exception: a storm on the 16th–17th produced gusts of 71 mph on the evening of the 16th, followed by an 81 mph gust during the 1 a.m. hour of the 17th. The prevailing wind direction was out of the south-southwest, occurring 20% of the time.
Sunshine was slightly below normal, with 169 hours of bright sunshine recorded — 46% of the possible sunshine for March.
Monthly climate summaries like this one are made possible by Blue Hill Observatory’s continuous atmospheric record, which has run without interruption since 1885 — the longest in the Western Hemisphere.
