With drenching exit, March breaks a trend, accomplishes a rarity
For the first time in 33 years, a March will be colder than February.
Through Tuesday, for the year Philadelphia was running about a 2.5-inch precipitation deficit, but that might well get wiped out by the time the rains back off Saturday.
A flood watch has been issued starting at noon for most of the region except foe the shore with the National Weather Service projecting rainfall amounts of 2 to 3 inches with 4 inches possible in some localities.
March should end up on the plus side for precipitation – and we've had quite an assortment this month – but of more note would be the temperature.
The average temperature for the month is likely to finish at 42.1. That would break a nine-month streak of above-normal official temperatures in Philadelphia. The government's 30-year March normal is 43.5.
A bigger deal is the fact that the March temperature is going to come in colder than February's 44.2.
March hasn't out-chilled February in Philly since 1984.
March 2017 also will walk away with one other distinction: It will be the only month with above-normal snowfall, those 7 inches being better than double the normal of 2.9.
One thing the month lacked was a sustained period of spring-like weather. Of the eight technically clear days, temperatures were winter-like on five of them.
Then again, we had our spring. That was in February.