March and spring’s opening month was dominated by a strongly +AO/NAO with a deep trough stretching from Alaska to Greenland with strong ridging over North America & Europe.

Unfortunately the below 500mb geopotential anomaly below only goes out to the 17th. The ridging over North America and eastern Europe was unusually strong and persistent…

This synoptic setup produced an extreme pattern throughout the hemisphere with simply outrageous cold on top of heat for North America while on the other side of the pond it was the UK’s 10th warmest March and likely one of Europe’s warmest also.

Global temp & precip anomaly for March 2026

Europe

As can be seen below, the flip from winter’s 2nd half -AO/NAO to + meant a flip in rainfall distribution with dramatic northward shift in jet position.

UK Stats/Highlights

UK sees joint tenth warmest March on record, as Wales ranks joint fourth and England joint sixth

The final day of March 2026 reached 20.9°C in Pershore, Worcestershire – the joint warmest day of the year so far – capping off a warm and sunny start to spring for much of the UK.

According to provisional Met Office statistics, the UK experienced its joint tenth warmest March in a series dating back to 1884. With a mean temperature of 7.0°C, March 2026 is tied with March 2025 as the joint tenth warmest on record. The warmest March for the UK remains 1938. 

Wales saw its joint fourth warmest and England its joint sixth warmest March – with both nations experiencing their warmest March since 2017.  

Across the UK and individually, in all four nations, March was warmer than the long-term meteorological average, although there were a few short cooler spells early in the month and towards the end of the month.  

At county level, several counties recorded one of their top five warmest Marches on record, including South Glamorgan its second and East Sussex its third.   

READ MORE: Fool’s spring: why warm spells can be misleading 

Average rainfall, with regional variations 

UK rainfall concludes just above the long-term average (102%) for March. This continues a notable run of wetter-than-average months, with March becoming the fifth consecutive month since November in which UK rainfall has been above average. 

As is often the case, rainfall showed considerable regional variation. England was generally the driest of the UK nations, seeing 17% less than its March average. Within this however, there was a pronounced north–south split, with northern England seeing 14% above average and southern England 37% below.  

Northern Ireland and Wales saw less rainfall than average, whilst Scotland saw particularly wet conditions (19% above average). This was especially seen across northern parts of the country, where several significant spells of rainfall contributed to rainfall 36% above average.

A reversal in rainfall patterns since winter  

Comparing the March rainfall map with that of the winter just passed reveals a clear reversal in where rainfall fell. During winter, northwestern Scotland was much drier than average, while many other areas – particularly eastern Scotland, southeast and southwest England, and eastern parts of Northern Ireland – were much wetter than average. By contrast, the March map shows an almost opposite pattern, with areas that were dry over winter seeing wetter conditions, and vice versa. This shows the strong month-to-month variability in UK rainfall patterns. 

Plenty of spring sunshine  

The UK and all four nations recorded above-average sunshine for March, helping to reinforce the early spring feel to the month. Eastern parts of Scotland stood out in particular, with sunshine levels around 34% above average, making it the sixth sunniest March since 1910, and notably brighter than other parts of Scotland.  

Commenting on the provisional figures, Met Office Scientist, Dr Emily Carlisle, said: “March has delivered some notably warm weather for England and Wales in particular, alongside plenty of sunshine and near-average rainfall overall. While those milder conditions will have stood out for many, the month has still delivered a mix of weather across the UK, including more unsettled spells and even snow for some. This variability is entirely typical for March, a month of transition when lingering winter influences can sit alongside the increasing warmth of spring.” 

READ MORE: Easter weather extremes: the records behind a famously changeable weekend 

March 2026 figures across the country

A maximum of 20C at Fyvie Castle, Aberdeenshire was Scotland’s first 20C in March since 2022.

Stations in the southern UK witnessed frost-free conditions in both February and March!

Wetter than average NW, drier S/SE, opposite much of the past winter.

March 2026 Monthly Weather Report

Highest Maximum 20.9°C on 18th at Gogerddan (Dyfed, 31mAMSL)
also on 31st at Pershore (Hereford & Worcester, 35mAMSL)
Lowest Maximum 2.6°C on 25th at Lerwick (Shetland, 82mAMSL)
Highest Minimum 10.8°C on 2nd at Bude (Cornwall, 15mAMSL)
Lowest Minimum -6.1°C on 6th at Loch Glascarnoch (Ross & Cromarty, 269mAMSL)
Lowest Grass
Minimum -10.5°C on 26th at Dundreggan Rewilding Centre (Inverness-shire, 123mAMSL)
Most Rainfall 93.2mm on 24th at Honister Pass (Cumbria, 358mAMSL)
Most Sunshine 11.7hr on 18th at Oxford (Oxfordshire, 63mAMSL)
Highest Gust 68Kt 78mph on 12th at Capel Curig No 3 (Gwynedd, 216mAMSL)
Highest Gust
(mountain*) 99Kt 114mph on 29th at Cairngorm Summit (Inverness-shire, 1237mAMSL)
Greatest Snow
Depth at 0900
UTC
4cm on 13th at Aviemore (Inverness-shire, 228mAMSL)
also on 25th at Tulloch Bridge (Inverness-shire, 249mAMSL)
also on 26th at Lerwick (Shetland, 82mAMSL)

MY SCORE: 9 out of 10: A Good Prediction

The Verdict…

Warmer than average for a large swathe of Europe including UK & Ireland with potential surges of unseasonable warmth at times. Drier than average away from Ireland, perhaps NW Scot.

A very decent monthly prediction. I think 9 out of 10 is fair by predicting the warm month and flip in rainfall distribution with colder end!

My March 2026 Stats

HIGHLIGHTS/SUMMARY

A windy/westerly driven month with mean wind direction W all 31 days!

Wettest month since last Oct.

– New monthly record 24h rain
– New monthly record wind gust
– Mildest March minimum

Global Highlights for March 2026

Extreme Temperatures 3/3: NORTH AMERICA with extreme contrasts. Another extraordinary warm week ahead in mainland USA (almost everywhere) with some more 100s in Texas Canada and ALASKA with harsh cold: Fairbanks dropped to -49F on Sunday,lowest March temperature (=1956) since 1911 ! (-56F on 12th/13rd)

Thierry Goose 3/3: Last night was a cold one in Quebec, as low as -37.7°C in Wapus [47°N].

-34.8°C Parent, -34.5°C Normandin -33.5°C Chicoutimi -31.7°C La Tuque -30.2°C Edmundston, NB -28.0°C Quebec City -27.8°C Sherbrooke -26.5°C Gatineau -24.5°C Montreal-Mirabel

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 6/3: EXCEPTIONAL HEAT Believe it or not,those are the Highest MINIMUMS temperatures in each State tonight,typical of JUNE 76 Florida 75 Texas 72 Louisiana,Mississippi 69 Oklahoma,Alabama 66 Georgia,Arkansas,Tennessee 65 South Carolina 64 Virginia 63 Missouri,North Carolina,Kentucky

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 7/3: MARCH SUMMER Another exceptionally hot day in the East 97 Texas 91 Louisiana,Florida 90 Mississippi 89 North & South Carolina 87 Georgia,Arkansas 86 Alabama,Tennessee 85 Virginia 84 Kentucky 83 W. Virginia 82 Indiana 81 Ohio,Illinois

MONTHLY RECORDS 91 Naples FL 89 Greewood AL

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 7/3: HISTORIC HEAT WAVE IN INDIA Never happened a heat like this so early Today another milestone was reached with New Delhi rising well above 35C, arguably the earliest 35C in history (tb confirmed), But next days will be even hotter,so we will see the earliest 36C and maybe the 37C

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 8/3: ANOTHER SUMMER NIGHT EXCEPTIONAL MINIMUMS up to 76F in Florida and Texas Dozens of records of March hottest night in the East with MINS up to 69F in VA and NC. Records include Fort Bragg,Mackall,Southern Pines HOTTER Next week,than a 105F heat wave in California after mid March

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 9/3: Sahel and Sahara are heating up fast Today the MINIMUM temperature of Tamale,GHANA failed to drop below 30C, this is the first 30C Minimum of 2026 in the Northern Hemisphere. This is just the appetizer: Next days we can expect up to 45C in the Sahel.

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 9/3: BRUTAL HEAT WAVE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA A Historic event has kicked off in South Africa and Namibia ALL TIME RECORDS SMASHED 44.0C Alexander Bay, S Africa, 43.7C Luderiz Point, Namibia

Next days will be much hotter and dozens of historical records will be pulverized.

EXTRAORDINARY NIGHT Temperatures of 37C in South Africa and Namibia coast Night Records broken by up to 14C: A World record RECORDS 44.3 Lamberts Bay 44 Alexander Bay 41 Molteno 41 Oranjemund HIGH MIN 30.2 Luderitz 26.6 Koingnaas 25.5 Molteno 24.1 Port Nolloth 21.2 Geelbek

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 10/3: Insane heat in ASIA Thousands of stations at record level for early March 42.0C Rajkot INDIA Also record early 40.0C at Mumbai 41C in PAKISTAN 38.3C in SRI LANKA 41C in MYANMAR 20c in MONGOLIA All this never seen so early and wait for more !

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 10/3: February 2026 Globally,according to Copernicus,had an average temperature of 13.26C,which is 0.53C above the 1991-2020 normal and was the 5th warmest February on record behind: 2024 +0.81C 2016 +0.69C 2025 +0.63C 2020 +0.60C

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 10/3: EXTRAORDINARY SUMMER NIGHT Hundreds of March warmest night records (and they will last until midnight) including 74 Houston 71 Little Rock,Texarcana 69 Jonesboro 67 Joplin 66 Popular,C. Girardeu MINIMUMS 77 FL 73 MS,LA 72 OK,AR 71 AL 68 MO,TN 66 KS,KY,IL 65 IN 64 OH 59 MI,IA

NWS New York NY 10/3: Central Park hit 80° today which makes it the earliest 80° day on record!

Don Penim 11/3: “Snow has fallen in the Sahara – turning the famous orange sand dunes white. Temperatures dropped below freezing in the Algerian town of Ain Sefra, providing the perfect conditions for snowfall. It is believed to be the seventh time in the past 40 years that the white stuff has fallen in the area. Before 2016, the last time snow was recorded Ain Sefra was in 1979 but in the past decade it has become more frequent.” https://mol.im/a/15636901 via @DailyMail

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 11/3: SE ASIA ENDLESS RECORD HEAT Record heat never ends in INDONESIA Tonight the Minimum temperature at Ternate was 27.0C,its hottest March night in history. Ternate has never recorded a colder than average month in 9 years.

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 11/3: ANOTHER EXTRAORDINARY NIGHT IN SOUTH AFRICA

Most of the Night at 35C in Cape Town Records broken by up to 14C Final 24hrs MINIMUMS Temp 31.0 Molteno 28.0 Cape Town 27.5 Koingnaas 26.8 Lamberts Bay 26.4 Springbok 25.5 Langebaanweg 24.8 Alexander Bay 23.1 Geelbak 23.0 Cape Point

NWS Fairbanks 12/3: The Interior just made history. From February 25 through March 11, Fairbanks averaged -20°F, the coldest such period recorded. This shattered the 1971 record of -17°F. Whether you were topping off the fuel tank or battling a cold start, you just survived one for the books! #akwx

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 11/3: Another 42C day in INDIA and MYANMAR 42.4 Nandurbar,42.3 Vidyanahar,42.0 Minbu 36.8c Delhi, a record for the first half of March. Another 20C day in MONGOLIA at 1300m asl (and another one tomorrow). Asia has been with historic heat for weeks.

Colin McCarthy 14/3: Maui’s tallest peak, Haleakalā, has seen a staggering 32.39 inches of rain in the last 24 hours.

Thierry Goose 14/3: Remarkably low temperatures in the Philippines!

7.5°C Benguet State University, La Trinidad [1300 m] (Note that the BSU station has a short POR)

9.0°C Baguio [1510 m] = lowest March temperature since *at least* 2000 The March national record is 7.4°C in Baguio (1963)

Thierry Goose 17/3: Absolutely crazy amounts of snow in northern Michigan (Upper Peninsula)

52.0″/132.1 cm Round Lake, 48.5″/123.2 cm Cusino Lake, 45.0″/114.3 cm Herman, 42.5″/108.0 cm Forest Lake, 40.0″/101.6 cm Three Lakes.

US NATIONAL MARCH RECORD TIED 18 MARCH, 2026

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 18/3: EXTRAORDINARY DAY FOR THE HISTORY 108 North Shore CALIFORNIA HOTTEST MARCH DAY IN HISTORY

105 Laguna and Fort Yuma ARIZONA HOTTEST MARCH DAY IN HISTORY

86 Belle Fourche WYOMING HOTTEST MARCH DAY IN HISTORY

Hundreds of March records pulverized,the most important below:

NEW US MARCH RECORD SET 19 MARCH, 2026

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 20/3: EXTRAORDINARY 112F IN CALIFORNIA AND ARIZONA Absolutely crazy what we are witnessing: 4 stations with 112F/44.4C in March State records of Nevada,Wyoming,Utah and others also trashed in pieces. Hundreds of monthly records broken locally with >10F margin. More info later

14 NEW STATE RECORD HIGHS FOR MARCH

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 19/3: Extraordinary warm nights as well.. Palm Springs had an insane minimum of 78F, 8F above the previous March record and it’s the March highest Minimum ever recorded in the West by far and 2F from the US record. Only one April day in history had a higher Minimum in Palm Springs.

Daniel Swain 22/3: Yet another day of record-shattering heat, and now it extends clear across the continental U.S. All-time monthly record high temperatures are occurring from the Desert Southwest eastward to the Mid-Atlantic today, with at least daily records being set from Pacific to Atlantic.

A quite remarkable 7-DAY Temperature anomaly across the Lower 48!

A graphic which speaks a thousand words on magnitude of the March ’26 heatwave.

Thierry Goose 22/3: Today was probably one of the most extreme days ever recorded in the USA. Tons of monthly records destroyed everywhere. 110°F in California and Arizona 101°F in Kansas 97°F in South Dakota and Iowa 90°F in Wyoming Some stations recorded temperatures *above* their April record!

Thierry Goose 21/3: Record mildness in Oymyakon, Yakutia! After having its 3rd warmest December and its warmest January on record, March 2026 is also shaping up to be the warmest March ever recorded! To date, 8 daily heat records have been broken, including an exceptional 0.4°C on the 19th.

Thierry Goose 23/3: After Oymyakon, Verkhoyansk, the 2nd Russian “icebox”, just had an astonishing maximum of 4.4°C [19°C above average], its 3rd highest March temperature ever recorded and highest that early in the month! 5.7°C, March 31, 2007 4.5°C March 28, 1975 4.4°C March 23, 2026.

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 23/3: SAHEL HEAT WAVE Another exceptional heat wave in the Sahel, it’s one after another. Maximum Temperatures up to 44C and very hot nights with widespread Minimums >30C. Today some MINIMUMS 31.8C San MALI 31.0C Ouagadougou BURKINA FASO

NEW WORLD COLD RECORD FOR MARCH SET AT VOSTOK, ANTARCTICA!

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 25/3: HISTORIC WORLD RECORD -76.4C at Vostok ANTARCTICA LOWEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED IN MARCH WORLDWIDE It dethrones -76.1C at Ago-4.

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Extreme Temperatures Around The World 25/3: ABSOLUTELY CRAZY MINIMUM 30.5c Juan de Nova Island FRENCH SOUTHERN TERRITORIES RECORD HOTTEST NIGHT The area has been with record heat for over 12 years.

Extreme Temperature Around the World 26/3: EXTRAORDINARY HEAT IN AFRICA Hundreds of records smashed from West to East with Up to 45C and Minimums up to 32C More records 39.9 Bosaso SOMALIA HOTTEST MARCH DAY EVER 35.0 SAO TOME HOTTEST MARCH DAY EVER.

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 26/3: HISTORIC HEAT WAVE IN AUSTRALIA Insane Minimum 32.2C at Port Hedland yesterday. It’s the hottest night ever recorded in the whole Southern Hemisphere this time of the year.

The Global Warmer 27/3: Another 99°F in Colorado. Campo tied the state March record high yesterday (3/26/2026), just one day after Burlington set it. That means Colorado’s pre-2026 March record of 96°F, which originally stood since 3/19/1907, has now been beaten by 3°F — and matched twice in two days.

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 28/3: AUSTRALIA WINTRY SPELL After the historic record heat in the West, a harsh wintry spell affected the East with some March records of low maxes yesterday including in Sydney areas followed by some record minimums today in Queensland and New South Wales.

Bureau of Meteorology 28/3: It was an early taste of winter across much of south-east Australia on Friday, as a cold air mass travelled up from the south of the country.

Alpine ski resorts saw their first snow of the year, including Perisher, Mount Hotham and Mount Buller. A dusting of snow was also observed around Orange, including at Mount Canobolas.

In particular, New South Wales and the ACT experienced very much below average temperatures, with several locations observing their coldest March day on record. Some of the lowest maximum temperatures observed on Friday include:

• Perisher Valley: 2.4°C, previous March record was 3.7°C

• Orange Airport: 9.0°C, previous record was 11.8°C

• Bathurst Airport: 10.9°C, previous record was 14.0°C

• Canberra Airport: 15.3°C, previous record was 15.9°C

• Dubbo Airport: 16.2°C, previous record was 18.0°C

• Tamworth Airport: 17.7°C, previous record was 19.0°C

• Canterbury Racecourse: 17.9°C, previous record was 18.2°C

Widespread showers and damaging winds were also observed on Friday.

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 28/3: EXCEPTIONAL HEAT IN INDIA Extremely hot night in Southern India,one of the hottest nights ever recorded in March in India. In particular, the Minimum of 29.4C at Agathi is a new record for March and it’s one of the highest Minimum ever recorded in the whole Asia in March.

Extreme Temperatures Around The World 28/3: HISTORIC HEAT IN SAUDI ARABIA MINIMUM 29.0c Gizan HOTTEST MARCH NIGHT EVER RECORDED IN SAUDI ARABIA.

Jeff Berardelli 29/3: As we close March, we close the book on a #heatwave without precedent, one meteorologists simply didn’t think was possible. As per Climatologist M. Herrera @extremetemps research, in total 17 States set new all-time March maximum temperature records in the last 10 days. Suffice to say the event is much more rare than a 1000 year event when you consider intensity, longevity and size as compared to our historical record. But now-a-days, in our heated climate, it’s a much more likely occurrence. In March NOAA shows 15,000+ daily city heat records, ~3000 monthly city heat records were set.

Thierry Goose 29/3: Exceptionally low temperatures in the past 3 days in Nunavik, Quebec, at record levels for late March. -45.0°C Renard Mine, QC.

Thierry Goose 31/3: -43.3°C Rivière aux Feuilles, Nunavik, Quebec. It’s extremely cold for March 30 (anywhere in Quebec). (≈25°C below average). Two days before April, it’s 3.3°C below the April provincial record!

Rodney Barney 31/3: =NEW MONTHLY RECORDS IN NEWFOUNDLAND/LABRADOR= Wabush, Churchill Falls, Nain, and Makkovik all just recorded their COLDEST MARCH on record. Goose Bay tied its record.

Patrick Duplessis 31/3: March 2026 was extremely cold across the territories and northern Ontario, Quebec and Labrador. The coldest month of the “winter” for many, and record-cold in Rankin Inlet, Churchill and Wabush. Meanwhile, Southern Ontario had a variable, but warm month.