While extensive rainfall is atypical for Central Florida during the month of March, last month delivered the region much needed rain multiple times.
In addition, March 2022 proved not only to be a stormy one but also an abnormally warm one as well.
Temperatures across Central Florida finished 3 to 5 degrees warmer than average for the month of March.
Orlando’s average temperature for the month was more than 5 degrees above average, ranking as the sixth warmest on record for the City Beautiful.
Typically, the average high in March for Orlando is 79, while the normal low is around 56 degrees. Yet, the average high and low last month was 84 and 61 degrees, respectively.
Daytona Beach, Melbourne, Sanford and Ocala all felt temperatures around or more than 3 degrees above average.
In fact, March 2022 finished as one of the top 10 warmest on record for Sanford, Leesburg, Daytona Beach and Melbourne.
In Melbourne, it was the fourth warmest March on record, tied with 2016.
Meanwhile, in Sanford and Daytona Beach, it was the seventh warmest. For Leesburg, March 2022 came in as the ninth warmest on record.
Orlando and Sanford both experienced their first 90-degree day of 2022. On March 18, temperatures peaked at 91 degrees in Orlando and hit 90 degrees in Sanford.
Even though the average first 90-degree day in Orlando is April 9, this is the third year in a row that temperatures hit at or above the 90-degree mark during the month of March.
Rainfall last month was also quite impressive. The month featured a stretch of severe weather that not only brought heavy rain into the region, but even a good amount of hail as well.
Most of the hail fell from severe storms on March 16. Many areas saw a quarter-sized to ping-pong ball-sized hail.
March through May is generally the time of year Central Florida can see large hail, which was certainly the case last month.
As we mentioned previously, the stormy March put a big dent in the drought conditions that started to expand across Central Florida at the end of February.
Every location finished with a surplus of 2 to 3 inches of rain.
The most rain was in Sanford and Leesburg. Both spots received more than 6 inches.
The April outlook calls for above-average temperatures to continue, with an equal chance of above or below-average rainfall.
The average monthly high temperature in April for Orlando is 84 degrees, with an average monthly low of 61 degrees.
April tends to be drier for Orlando compared to March. The City Beautiful averages 2.58 inches of rain during April, while March averages around 3.03 inches.
In Orlando, the month starts with an average high at 81 degrees, but ends with an average high of 86 degrees.
