SouthernWorldwide.com – March shattered heat records across the continental United States in multiple unprecedented ways, according to newly released federal data. The month’s extreme warmth was so significant that it registered as the most abnormally hot month in 132 years of record-keeping.
The average temperature for March reached 50.85 degrees Fahrenheit, which was a staggering 9.35 degrees above the 20th-century normal for the month. This figure not only made it the hottest March on record but also surpassed the previous record for the most abnormally hot month overall, regardless of the calendar month. That record, 8.9 degrees above normal, was set in March 2012.
The data, released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), also highlighted the exceptional daytime high temperatures. The average maximum temperature for March was 11.4 degrees above the 20th-century average. This was nearly a full degree warmer than the typical average daytime high temperature for April, underscoring the unusual nature of the March heat.
Scientists Express Growing Concern Over Temperature Trends
This pattern of extreme heat is not an isolated incident. Six of the top ten most abnormally hot months recorded in the U.S. have occurred within the last decade. Even February of the same year, which was 6.57 degrees above the 20th-century norm, ranked as the tenth highest above normal on record.
“What we experienced in March across the United States was unprecedented,” stated Shel Winkley, a meteorologist with Climate Central, a non-profit science research organization. He emphasized the sheer volume of records that were set and broken during this period.
Winkley further noted the concerning context of this heatwave. “This is coming on the heels of what was the worst snow year and the hottest winter on record,” he added, painting a picture of a consistently warming climate.
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According to NOAA, the 12-month period from April of the previous year to March of the current year was the warmest such period on record for the continental United States. This indicates a sustained trend of elevated temperatures.
On March 20 and 21, approximately one-third of the nation experienced unseasonable heat. Climate Central calculated that such extreme temperatures would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change.
Meteorologist Guy Walton, who analyzes NOAA data, reported that over 19,800 daily temperature records were broken for heat nationwide. More than 2,000 locations set monthly heat records, which are significantly harder to break than daily ones. Walton calculated that the number of March heat records set in the past month alone exceeded those set in entire decades previously.
“Climate Change is Kicking Our Butts”
The cascade of broken records leads meteorologists to conclude that the impact of climate change is becoming increasingly severe. “All those broken records tells us that climate change is kicking our butts,” remarked Jeff Masters, a meteorologist with Yale Climate Connections.
Masters also pointed out the concurrent dryness, stating, “The January through March period was the driest on record for the contiguous U.S. So not only was it hot, it was record dry as well.” He highlighted this combination as particularly problematic for water availability, agriculture, river levels, and navigation.
Looking ahead, both the European climate and weather service Copernicus and NOAA are forecasting the development of a “super” strong El Niño in the coming months. This phenomenon is expected to intensify into the winter and further increase global temperatures, potentially surpassing the record set in 2024.
An El Niño is a natural, temporary, and cyclical warming of specific areas in the central Pacific Ocean that influences weather patterns globally. It is officially recognized when a part of the ocean is 0.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 F) warmer than normal, considered moderate at 1 degree Celsius, and strong at 1.5 degrees Celsius.
However, both NOAA and European agencies are predicting this El Niño to exceed 2 degrees Celsius, reaching a level informally termed “super-sized.” This strength could rival the records set during the El Niño events of 2015 and 2016.
Victor Gensini, a meteorology professor at Northern Illinois University, explained that an El Niño releases heat stored in the upper ocean into the atmosphere, leading to a rise in global temperatures with a time lag of a few months. “A strong El Niño could plausibly push global temperatures to new record levels in late 2026 and into 2027,” Gensini predicted.
Studies, including one published in the journal Nature Communications last December, suggest that super-sized El Niños can trigger a “climate regime shift,” altering normal conditions into a different pattern for years or even decades. Following the 2015-2016 El Niño, the Gulf of Mexico experienced a sustained increase in warmth, which may have contributed to more powerful hurricanes along the Gulf Coast in subsequent years.
While research is increasingly indicating that a warming world, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, may be intensifying El Niños, climate scientists note that a definitive consensus has not yet been reached.
“Global warming is supercharging El Niños and the atmospheric warming they drive,” commented Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the environment and climate scientist at the University of Michigan. “We saw this in 2016 and more recently in 2023. We’re likely to see another jump in global temperatures if a strong El Niño develops later this year as being predicted.”
El Niños typically suppress hurricane activity in the Atlantic while increasing it in the Pacific. They may also offer some relief to the drought conditions in the southwestern United States, according to Masters.
