It's official: March is snowiest since ’93; lowest high-temperature mark

Southwestern Pennsylvania has seen its snowiest March since the Blizzard of 1993, and the region broke a temperature record Monday as the high failed to rise above freezing.

The 16.2 inches of snow that has fallen so far this month is more than double the monthly average of 7.6 inches. There were nine days of snow in the month that added up, with larger storms March 9, 12 and over the weekend, said National Weather Service meteorologist Lee Hendricks.

“(March is) when we’ve had some of the biggest snow,” he said.

That was certainly true in 1993, when March saw 34 inches of snow fell across the region. There were 15.6 inches in 1999 and 15.2 inches in 2013, according to the weather service.

This has been the snowiest March since 1993....and we all know what happened that year! pic.twitter.com/x4r5h2EuCZ

— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) March 28, 2022

The cold temperatures will move out of the region this week, but not before they broke a record from 2015. Yesterday’s high of 27 degrees was well below the previous mark for lowest high temperature for March 28 of 30 degrees, Hendricks said.

The monthly average temperature for March is 43.1 degrees. The coldest-ever March day was 15 degrees in 1885.

The mercury is expected to rise this week, though more precipitation is expected.

Hendricks said the temperature Tuesday is expected to hit the mid-40s with rain and snow overnight but no accumulation is predicted. On Wednesday and Thursday, showers are likely with temperatures in the 60s and 70s.