NOAA says sweltering conditions around the world last month made March 2019 the second hottest March on record for Earth, after March 2016. You probably won’t believe that in Michigan, as we were colder than average.
The average global temperature in March was 1.9 degrees F above the 20th-century average of 54.9 degrees F, making it the second hottest March on record in 140 years of temperature records. Temperature records date back to 1880. This recent past March also was the 43rd consecutive March and 411 consecutive month with global temperatures above average, according to NOAA.
The red shaded areas where warmer than average. The smaller blue areas were colder than average in March 2019.
You’ll notice a vast majority of the globe has a red shading for March 2019 temperatures. The red shadings are warmer than average.
A large part of the central U.S., including Michigan, was cooler than average. Most Lower Michigan cities were around three degrees colder than average in March. That’s not an extremely cold situation, but far enough from average for Michiganders to feel cold.
NOAA advises that record-hot year-to-date temperatures were felt across parts of Australia, northern Alaska, northwestern Canada, southern Brazil, the Barents Sea, the Tasman and East China seas, and in scattered areas across all the southern oceans.
So while Michigan and a large part of the Midwest was cool, most of the globe was much warmer than average.
Antarctic sea ice was smaller than average during March 2019.
Polar sea-ice coverage was also smaller than average. The average Arctic sea ice coverage in March was 5.7 percent below the 1981-2010 average, tying 2011 as the seventh smallest for March on record. The Antarctic sea ice extent was 21.6 percent below average, which is the second smallest for March on record.
All of this data shows the globe continues to be in a long-term warming trend.