It's Official: March 2012 Was Des Moines Area's Warmest Ever

This March was the warmest month in Des Moines since weather records have been kept, according to Kristina Pydynowski, meteorologist for AccuWeather.com.

The average temperature was a balmy 55.7 degrees. It's been more than 100 years since Des Moines had a March even close to that warm. In 1910, the average temperature was 51.5.

Des Moines was one of dozens of cities across the United States that had its warmest March ever, but Iowa seemed to be in the bullseye of the warmest temperature variation, according to AccuWeather's map. 

The average March temperature was 16 degrees higher than normal -- much more like a very warm April in Iowa than March. No surprises for those of us who got out the shorts and tank tops early.

Des Moines didn't break the record for warmest single day in March: That still holds at 91 degrees on March 29, 1986.

Our warmest day was 84 on March 16, according to preliminary data from the National Weather Service