Very Wet with Chilly Days
Temperatures
The average maximum temperature during March 2023 in Shoreham was 10.4 Celsius (50F), and that was around 1 Celsius (<2F) below normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 5.9 Celsius (43F), and that was around 1 Celsius (<2F) above average for March.
The highest temperature recorded during the month was only 13.6 Celsius (56F) on the 25th, and this was 0.2 Celsius (<0.5F) lower than the highest temperature recorded during February. However, there were a further 5 days when the temperature reached, or exceeded, 13.0 Celsius (55F), and on 5 more days the maximum was between 12 and 13 Celsius (54-55F). All of these milder days occurred after the 12th. The coldest days were during the first half of March, and with the exception of the 20th, which had a high of 9.8 Celsius (50F), all of the 12 days that had maxima below 10 Celsius (50F) occurred before mid-month. Only 4 days had maxima below 7 Celsius (45F), with all of these coldest days occurring between the 5th and 10th. On the 10th a high of 5.6 Celsius (42F) was recorded, but the coldest day of the month was the 7th with a top temperature of 5.4 Celsius (41F).
There were many cloudy nights during March and this significantly helped to keep temperatures from falling. This led to several mild nights. On 3 of these, the 13th, 30th and 31st, the temperature failed to fall below 10 Celsius (50F). The mildest of these nights was the 30th with a low of 10.4 Celsius (50F). A further 8 nights had minima between 8 and 10 Celsius (46-50F) with all of these milder nights occurring after mid-month and including 5 consecutive nights commencing on the 21st. Some quite cold nights occurred, and on 14 occasions the temperature fell below 5 Celsius (41F). Apart from 27th, when a minimum of 4.7 Celsius (40F) was recorded, all of these colder nights occurred before mid-month. On 6 nights the temperature fell below 2 Celsius (36F), but only 2 of the nights had minima under 1 Celsius (34F). The 2nd had a low of 0.2 Celsius (32F), but the coldest night of the month was the 11th when the temperature fell to minus 1.5 Celsius (30F).
The sea temperature was around 8 Celsius (46F) at first, but for most of the month it was nearer 9 Celsius (48F).
Frost
There was air frost on 1 night during March, around 1 night below average. It occurred on the 11th when the temperature fell to minus 1 Celsius (30F). Grass frost occurred on 6 nights, which was 5 nights above average. The first 3 nights of the month each had grass frost with a low of minus 3.3 Celsius (26F) recorded on the 2nd. A similar value was recorded on the 15th. The other 2 grass frosts occurred on the 6th and 11th with ground minima of minus 1.7 Celsius (29F) and minus 6.7 Celsius (20F) respectively.
Rain
Rainfall in March amounted to 135.2 millimetres (5.3 ins.) which was almost 3 times the monthly average. It was the wettest March in the area since 1981, when 155 millimetres (6.1 ins.) were recorded. Measurable rain fell on 22 days, which was 7 days above the average, and wet days (when 1 millimetre (0.04 ins.), or more, of rain falls) numbered 20, which was 10 days above the average. No measurable rain fell during the first 5 days of the month, but after that there was no completely dry day, although on 4 days there was just a trace of rain. The first rain of the month, on the 6th, amounted to just 2.6 millimetres (0.1 ins.), but on each of the following 3 days precipitation exceeded 10 millimetres (0.4 ins.). The wettest of these days was the 9th when 23.6 millimetres (0.92 ins.) were recorded. Fairly heavy falls of rain then often occurred during the rest of the month. On the 12th, 16th, 17th, 23rd and 31st the daily total ranged between 5 and 10 millimetres (0.2 and 0.4 ins.), with totals of 12.2 millimetres (0.48 ins.) on the 25th, and 14.0 millimetres (0.55 ins.) on the 30th.
Hail
No hail was observed in this part of Shoreham.
Thunder
No thunder was heard in this part of Shoreham.
Snow
There were a few large wet snowflakes in the rain around mid morning on the 7th, and in the early hours of the 8th the temperature fell to 1.3 Celsius (34F) and the rain turned to sleet for almost 2 hours.
Wind
In marked contrast to February, the month of March was cyclonic and, at times, quite windy. On most occasions (18) the wind blew from between south and west, but there were northerlies at the beginning of the month, and on some days the wind was cyclonic variable. At Shoreham Airport, there was a southwesterly gust of 30 knots (34 mph) late in the afternoon of the 6th, and a rapid rise of pressure on the morning of the 10th was accompanied by gusty northwesterly winds with the highest gust 35 knots (40 mph). The 13th was a breezy day with the southwesterly winds peaking at 36 knots (41 mph) around dawn. Late on the 22nd southwesterly gusts peaked at 32 knots (36 mph). and during the 24th and 25th southwesterly gusts of 32 and 33 knots (36-37 knots) were recorded. The last day of the month was the windiest with southwesterly gusts reaching 43 knots (49 mph) during the afternoon.
Fog
It was often misty and drizzly with hill fog, but on the morning of the 29th the hill fog lowered into the town for a while.
Statistics for March 2023
| Reporting Site | Highest Temp | Lowest Temp | Rain Total (mm) | Wettest | Rain days |
| Shoreham A/P | 13.5 | -2.0 | * | 21 | 24 |
| Thorney Island | 13.8 | -0.9 | * | 23 | 24 |
| Gatwick A/P | 15.1 | -4.1 | * | 31 | 25 |
| Herstmonceux | 14.9 | -2.0 | * | 29 | 24 |
| Bournemouth (Hurn) | 14.7 | -2.9 | * | 35 | 25 |
| Middle Wallop | 14.9 | -2.8 | * | 24 | 25 |
| Dieppe | 20.5 | 1.4 | 86 | 17 | 20 |
* Totals unreliable