Warmest March in U.S. mirrors trend on LI

Last month was warmer on average across the country than any previous March in more than 100 years -- and Long Island was no exception.

The average Islip temperature last month was 47.3 degrees, breaking the previous record of 45.1 set in 2010, said Joey Picca, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton. Weather service data for Islip go back to 1984.

But nationally, the average March temperature this year was 51.1 degrees, up a half-degree from the previous record set in 1910, said Brady Phillips, a spokesman with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, which released a report Monday.

In addition, more than 15,000 warm daily temperature records were broken in the United States, he said.

Manhattan's Central Park, for which data go back to 1869, recorded its second warmest March, with an average temperature of 50.9 degrees, Picca said.

That's still just shy of the record 51.1 degrees set in 1945, he said.

Average temperatures for the first three months of the year, for both Islip and the contiguous United States, were also above the long-term averages.

The Islip average for January, February and March was 40.6 degrees, compared with 34.8 degrees, the average for those three months since 1984, Picca said.

The average U.S. temperature for those months this year was 42 degrees, six degrees above the long-term average, according to the report.