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March came in like a lamb — and left like one, too.
Last month was the warmest March on record in New York City, according to the National Weather Service.
The average daily temperature for March 2012 was 51.3 degrees. The previous record holder was March 1945, which had an average temperature of 51.1.
Dan Hoffman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, attributed the unseasonably warm temperatures to a weakened jet stream.
“A lot of the cold air is locked up in the polar regions,” he said. “Usually, the jet stream is a little more amplified. Lately, the flow is a little flat. It’s not making that southward progress with that cold air.”
This winter was the second warmest on record, with an average temperature of 40.4 degrees.