SPOKANE, Wash. — March 2019 was among the top ten coldest on record in Spokane, according to new data from the National Weather Service.
The average temperature in Spokane sat at 34.2 degrees, making it the sixth coldest March in city history. This sits right below the fifth coldest March on record in 1975, which brought an average temperature of 34 degrees.
The coldest March on record happened in 1955, with an average temperature of 31.1 degrees.
February 2019 was ranked the second snowiest and fourth coldest February in recorded Spokane history, and those below-average temperatures bled into March.
Spokane also broke a one-day snow depth record on March 12 with 15 inches of snow. That breaks the record of 12 inches set in 1969.
Brutal wind chills made cold temperatures in early March feel even lower and parts of North Idaho saw temperatures as low as -10 degrees when factoring in wind chill.
On Friday, March 1, Spokane dropped to zero degrees with wind chill, the first time that cold of an overnight temperature was recorded since Jan. 27.
Other cities around the Northwest also saw particularly cold months. In Wenatchee, the average temperature of 38 degrees broke the record for the second coldest March on record.
Lewiston also saw the second coldest March on record, with an average temperature of 37.8 degrees.
There has been a noticeable change in the Climate Prediction Center’s outlook for April.
The 6-day outlook for April 4-9 and the 8-14 day outlook for April 6-12 now predict a 60 percent-plus chance for wetter than average weather for most of Washington.
The remainder of the month could very well be dry, according to KREM meteorologist Thomas Patrick.