Bend had coldest March in more than a century

It wasn’t just cold last month in Bend. It was the coldest March on record in more than a century, according to the National Weather Service in Pendleton.

The monthly climate summary showed the average temperature for the month was 31.4 degrees in Bend, more than 7 degrees below normal. The only other time Bend had a colder March was in 1917, when the average temperature was 26.9 degrees, according to weather service data that dates back to 1901.

The month began on a frigid note. Temperatures in Bend through the first week of March were more than 20 degrees below normal. Highs only reached 16 degrees on March 3 and 4, well below the month’s normal high of 48 degrees, the weather service said.

Overall, the high temperature averaged 41.8 degrees last month, more than 9 degrees below normal. The warmest March day in Bend was at the end of the month, when the high was 63 degrees on March 31.

The low temperature each night averaged 22.7 degrees, 4.8 degrees below normal. For 24 days last month, the low temperature was below 32 degrees.

The lowest temperature was 8 degrees on March 4.

March snowfall totaled 4.9 inches in Bend, adding to the snowpack that lingered on the ground from the historic winter storm in February, when more than 2 feet of snow fell in one day.

At least 1 inch of snow was reported on two days in March, and the heaviest snowfall was 2 inches on March 6.

Just 1 inch of rain was recorded in March, which was 0.27 inches below normal. Since October, Bend has recorded 7.08 inches of rain, which is 0.46 inches below normal, the weather service said.

For April, the weather service outlook calls for above normal temperatures and precipitation.

Normal highs for Bend rise from 54 degrees at the start of April to 60 degrees at the end of April. Normal lows rise from 29 degrees to 32 degrees.

Precipitation is minimal in April and normally amounts to 0.78 inches, according to the weather service.

— Reporter: 541-617-7820, kspurr@bendbulletin.com