NORFOLK, Va. — We’re two-thirds of the way through March 2024 and it has already been a month that will likely end up in the record books.
You don’t need me to tell you, it’s been wet. But most of that wet weather was front-loaded, coming within the first nine days of the month.
So far, 4.8" of rain has been measured at Norfolk International Airport, the 15th wettest on record. For comparison, the average total rainfall for the entire month of March is 3.69".
In order to climb into the Top 10 wettest, we would need to pick up an additional 1.52" of rain to snag the number 10 spot.
The current forecast points to the return of an unsettled pattern and a soaking rain on the way this weekend. Models depict anywhere from 1-2" of additional rainfall is possible. If that verifies it will be enough to hoist March 2024 into the record books for rainfall.
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March 2024 has also been exceptionally warm. Most of the month has seen daily highs above normal for this time of the year. In fact, 15 of the 21 days this month have been warmer than average.
If March ended today, it would go down as the 6th warmest March on record with an average temperature of 55.8 degrees. It may be a bit harder to hang on to the Top 10 warmest status with the pattern coming our way, though. A look at the long-range temperature trend shows a stretch of seasonable or below-average temperatures.
If -- and that's a big if -- we rank in the Top 10 for both wettest and warmest that would be quite the rarity. There’ve only been eight other instances of a single month achieving a Top 10 warmest and wettest spot since 1871! That’s 153 years!
Will March 2024 become the 9th? Only time will tell.
