View from the Rear Window - March 2023 ~ Crafty Cabbage

"March 4th", the only day that's also a sentence" - John Green

"In March, Winter is holding back and Spring is pulling forward" - Jean Hersey

"Flowers and colours everywhere, I'm so glad that March is here" - Anamika Mishra

March 2023 in Herefordshire was grey and ordinary except for a sprinkling of snow on the 8th and 9th of the month (Photo 2). In fact, everything weatherwise was in moderation - it seemed to rain on most days, but only gently, with sunshine only an occasional intruder. Consequently, temperatures were restrained with no really hot or cold days and only the occasional overnight frost.

At the beginning of the month, the pale pastel colours of cherry blossom, hellebores and viburnum were dominant interspersed with flashes of colour from the daffodils, croci, pansies and primroses. (Photo 1). By the end of the month, colour vibrancy goes up a notch with the appearance of hyacinths and the first tulips (Photo 3) and the flowering cherries are in their pomp.

Photo 1: Rear Garden Scene on 2nd March 2023

In between, we had some snow (Photo 2) - a fairly uncommon occurence in Hereford these days though we can often still see it on the Welsh hills some 15-20 miles away.

Photo 2: Rear Garden Scene on 9th March 2023

Photo 3: Rear Garden Scene on 31st March 2023

March's daily photos are collated in the timelapse video below (Video 1) put together using Clipchamp on a Chromebook.

Video 1: Timelapse Video of Daily Rear Garden Photos for March 2023

Summary of Weather Parameters for March 2023

Cooling and Heating Degree Days have been added to the list. Sunshine hours are estimated from average daily solar radiation values measured by the Davis weather station. A list of average and total weather parameters is given in Table 1.

Mean daily temperatures were typical for March. Low pressure dominated the month resulting in less sunshine and higher rainfalls.

Table 1: Average/Total Weather Statistics for March 2023

March 2023
Weather Parameter	Value	Dates
Average Monthly Temperature	8 oC
Maximum Monthly Temperature	18 oC	18th
Minimum Monthly Temperature	-3 oC	11th
Number of Air Frost Days	4
Number of Hot Days (> 25 oC)	0
Monthly Precipitation	68.2 mm
Greatest 24 h Precipitation	15.2 mm	9th - 10th
Number of Dry Days	7
Monthly Sunshine Hours (estimated)	93
Average Wind Speed	4 km/h
Highest Wind Speed	51 km/h	13th
Maximum Barometric Pressure (Sea Level)	1034.3 hPa	1st
Minimum Barometric Pressure (Sea Level)	980.4 hPa	31st
Average Barometric Pressure (Sea Level)	1006.7 hPa
Heating Degree Days	328.5
Cooling Degree Days	0.0

Daily minimum and maximum temperatures are shown graphically in Figure 1. Cold for the first third of the month with temperatures picking up in the final two-thirds. Overall, temperatures were around the average for March.

Figure 1: Daily Minimum and Maximum Temperatures (March 2023)

Figure 2 presents the daily rainfall and sunshine hours (using solar radiation as a proxy). Relatively few sunny days, plenty of overcast skies and some rain on most days.

Figure 2: Daily Rainfall and Solar Radiation (Sunshine proxy) for March 2023

March temperature stats for the last four years (2020 - 2023) are shown in Figure 3. This year's mean monthly temperature turned out to be 'normal' based on this short time series. The number of frost days in 2023 was slightly higher than normal and we did not see daily maxima above 20 ℃ as we have in the previous two years.

Figure 3: March Temperature Data for the last four years (2020 - 2023)

Figure 4 compares sun, wind and rain values for the last four years. March 2023 had much higher rainfall, less sunshine and fewer dry days than any of the previous 3 years.

Figure 4: March's Rain, Sunshine and Wind Statistics for the last four years (2020 - 2023)

The UK Met Office report for March 2023 found this month to be the wettest in England and Wales since 1981. March 2023 was the third wettest in England and the fifth wettest in Wales since 1836. So definitely on the wet side of wet. Figure 5 shows the relative rainfall for the UK with Herefordshire marked by the red circle - measured precipitation was double the 1991-2020 average.

Figure 5: Herefordshire Rainfall in March 2023 (© UK Met Office)

Relative sunshine duration for the UK is shown in Figure 6 with Herefordshire marked in red. Sunshine hours were 50-70 % of those normally found in Herefordshire for the month of March (1991 - 2020 mean). Based on the last 4 years data from my Davis weather station, the sunshine duration for March 2023 was about 80% of the norm (2020-2022).

Figure 6: Herefordshire Sunshine Hours in March 2023 (© UK Met Office)

Mean temperatures for the UK (Herefordshire marked in red) are indicated below in Figure 7. Very average for Herefordshire in agreement with the values reported from my weather station (see Figure 3).