New York in March
 

I hail from sunny South Africa and am going over to New York City from the 19th March - 8 April 2010. I need to know just how cold it gets at that time of the year. What type of weather can I expect???? Jen J

Could either be a cold snowy month or it could be an early spring with warm temps. You never know with March. It very well could be 20 degrees or 80 degrees. Since you will be here towards the end of the month, you may have a better shot of warmer weather but not guaranteed

I go to NY every March and usually find it quite cool/cold (usually 40sF -50sF) during day. Can be rainy/windy, but also sunny. But had snowstorm couple of years ago that shut down airports for hours and really created havoc. Overcoat, gloves and scarf are usually appropriate.

jennij, I was in NY a couple years ago mid-April and in the very same week, it was both freezing cold and beautifully warm! Just can't predict that time of year.

The good about March is that if it snows, it does not remain very long.

It can be completely freezing/snow in March or a bit pleasant (high 40s, *maybe* low 50s -- I have never experienced temps in the 80s!). I would plan for cold weather.

Any weather website will give you historic temperatures for any period of time. I use wunderground.com and their trip planner but not sure if they report in Celsius. Dressing in layers is the best idea for any winter visit to NYC. Inside is often overly hot from heating and outside can be brutal b/c of wind tunnels.

It's the very end of winter and the first week of spring. You will get chilly (40's) weather - but are unlikely to get real cold (less than 20). Rain is much more likely then snow - but the blizzard of 88 (more than 2 feet of snow) was at the end of March. Also the city tends to be damp and windy so you will feel the cold more.

And realize that there will be very few early flowers and trees wont have any leaves that early in the year - and a lot of grass is brown and crunchy. A fairly good time for hotel prices, but assume you will be doing a lot of indoors things. And you must have proper clothing and footgear and a good umbrella.

The average high in NY in March is 48F, and in April it's 58F, so at the end of March / beginning of April, the daytime high should average in the low 50's. If you get lucky, you might have some really pleasant early spring days with temps in the high 50's, maybe even 60. But the low at night is going to be in the mid 30's, so be prepared for some cold weather. Of course, these are only averages, and it could be a bit cooler or warmer.