Record wet

So much for March flipping from lion to lamb or vice versa. March 2024 was often a lion throughout, with frequent roaring winds and multiple rain events producing a near-record monthly precipitation total and occasional flooding. The first half of the month ran at a record-warm pace, the monthly average later to be tempered by a second half that was cooler than the first. Still, the month emerged as the 9th mildest on record. Befitting the overall mild conditions, snowfall was scarce to non-existent.

Winds gusted to 35 mph or higher at one or more Rutgers NJ Weather Network (NJWxNet) station on 16 days, exceeding 40 mph on 11 of those days. Precipitation (rain and the water equivalent of the very little snow that fell) averaged 7.76” across the state. This is 3.56” above the 1991–2020 normal and ranks as the third wettest March since records commenced in 1895. The northwest was least wet with 6.00”–7.00” falling. Totals increased to the southeast where near coastal areas received 9.00”–10.00”. The northern climate division averaged 7.01” (+3.00, 6th wettest), the southern division 8.15” (+3.83”, 3rd wettest), and the coastal division 8.98” (+4.56, 2nd wettest).

The statewide average March temperature was 46.0°. This is 5.0° above normal and ranks as the 9th mildest of the past 130 years. The average high temperature of 55.6° was 4.7° above normal and ranks 10th mildest. The average low of 36.3° was 5.1° above normal and ranks 4th mildest. The northern division averaged 43.9° (+5.1°, 9th mildest), southern division 47.2° (+4.8°, 8th mildest), and coastal division 47.0° (+4.8°, 7th mildest).

The moist and mild pattern of late spring and early summer has left the Garden State quite green. There is nothing new to this pattern, as the first six months of 2019 totaled 27.22” of rain and melted snowfall, some 4.92” above the 1981–2010 mean, and a 49.0° average temperature, which is 1.3° above average. Each of these ranks 13th highest of the past 125 years.

Even more impressive, the past 12 months have seen 10 wetter than average and 10 warmer than average. The two drier-than-average months (March and April) were closer to their 30-year mean than any of the wetter ones. The precipitation total for the past 12 months is 65.28”. This is the second wettest 12-month period on record out of all 1483 12-month periods dating back to 1895. The wettest was 66.62” for the period ending this past January. The majority of the top 20 such periods have occurred this decade. They have included the two wettest calendar years on record (2018 and 2011) and appear to have lasted longer than earlier wet intervals. Meanwhile, the warmth of the past 12 months (54.5°) would rank as the 9th warmest calendar year but not within the top 20 for any 12-month period.