Pacific NW was one of the only places in the world to endure a ‘cold’ March. Here’s why

If you think the Pacific Northwest got an unfair dose of cold weather for March, you’re absolutely right. What you may not realize is that it was a colder month than most of the rest of the world experienced.

March 2023 was the second-hottest March worldwide since records began in 1880, according to NASA. Worldwide temperatures measured 2.2 degrees above NASA’s baseline average for the month, with nearly every mainland area seeing above-average temperatures.

But not in the Pacific Northwest.

The West Coast of the United States, the Pacific Northwest and parts of Canada were among the few places on Earth that experienced below-average temperatures in March — the other locations were Iceland and the southern tip of South America.

The Pacific Northwest, specifically, was one of the cooler areas in the world in terms of temperature, coming in at about 2 to 4 degrees below average.

For example, the Puget Sound region recorded an average temperature across March of 41.6 degrees, 2.5 degrees below the normal of 44.1 degrees. The Tri-Cities area in eastern Washington had an average temperature of 43.7 degrees (2.1 degrees below normal), and Boise averaged 39.1 degrees, a whopping 6.1 degrees below average.

The Northwest has suffered from a colder March than the rest of the world because of a low-pressure system off the coast of Washington and Oregon. The system has been pulling cold air from Canada and the Gulf of Alaska southward toward the U.S.

Dev McMillian, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle, told McClatchy News that the low-pressure trough was also responsible for above-average rainfall this past March.

What about the rest of April?

Fortunately, things may soon start to warm up in the Northwest. The Climate Prediction Center forecasts a 33-40% chance of above-average temperatures for much of Washington, Oregon and Idaho in the next three months.

Looking at the rest of April, temperatures in the Northwest will briefly warm up next week, but we’re not done with the cold just yet. Stephen Parker, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Boise, told McClatchy News that he expects a high-pressure ridge to develop in the next week and bring warmer temperatures, but one or two more snow events may still be in our future.

“There’s no good predictability out beyond a week,” Parker said. “But just personally, watching this season come by, I wouldn’t be surprised if we had one more trough that could bring snow close to valley floors later this month. But there really is no way to be sure at this point.”