Very Mild and Wet
Temperatures
The average maximum temperature during March 2024 in Shoreham was 12.3 Celsius (54F), and that was around 1 Celsius (<2F) above the long-term average. The average minimum temperature was 6.6 Celsius (44F), and that was close to 1.5 Celsius (<3F) above the March normal. Only 1957 and 1959 appear to have had milder nights during March according to local records dating back to 1880.
The highest temperature recorded during the month was 16.4 Celsius (62F) on both the 20th and 31st. A further 4 days had maxima above 14 Celsius (57F) with the earliest very mild day occurring on the the 14th, and the other 3 very mild days occurring after the 23rd. On most other days highs ranged from 10 to 14 Celsius (50-57F), but there were 4 exceptions. The first 2 days of the month had maxima of 9.9 Celsius. A high of 9.1 Celsius (48F) occurred on the 5th, with the 11th only 0.1 Celsius (<0.2F) less cool.
Many mild nights occurred during March, and on 3 occasions the temperature stayed above 10 Celsius (50F). The minimum on the 13th was 10.1 Celsius (50F), with 10.6 Celsius (51F) on the 15th, and 10.3 Celsius (50F) on the 19th. A further 9 nights had lows between 8 and 10 Celsius (46-50F). Although 10 nights had minimum temperatures below 5 Celsius (41F), only 4 nights had lows under 4 Celsius (39F). All of these colder nights occurred during the first week of March, but just 2 nights had minima below 3 Celsius (37F). The lowest temperature was 0.4 Celsius (33F) with 1.9 Celsius (36F) occurring on the 4th.
The sea temperature slowly rose from 9 Celsius (48F) at the beginning of the month, to 10 Celsius (50F) by the end of March.
Frost
There was no air frost during March, which was 2 below average. Grass frost occurred on 5 nights, and that was 5 below average. Apart from on the 24th, when the grass temperature briefly dipped to minus 0.6 Celsius (31F), the grass frosts were confined to the first week of the month. Very slight grass frost occurred on the 1st and 7th, but on the 3rd and 4th, grass minima were minus 3.3 and minus 3.9 Celsius (27-26F) respectively.
Rain
Rainfall in March amounted to 105.0 millimetres (4.1 ins.), which was over 70% above the monthly average. Although March 2023 was wetter, only 9 Marches have been wetter according to local records commencing in 1880. Measurable rain fell on 22 days, which was 6 days above the average, and wet days (when 1 millimetre (0.04 ins.), or more, of rain falls) numbered 19, which was 7 days above the average. Showers gave 7.2 millimetres (0.3 ins) of rain on the 1st, and in a very unsettled month, there was only 1 completely dry day between the 1st and 19th, namely the 7th. Daily rainfall exceeded 5 millimetres (0.2 ins.) on 7 occasions during this period, and included totals of 10.0 millimetres (0.4 ins.) on both the 5th and 11th. There were more in the way of dry days after the 19th, and only 3 days had totals in excess of 2 millimetres (0.08 ins.). The 26th had 14.4 millimetres (0.57 ins.) of rain, with the 27th and 28th having 7.0 millimetres (0.28 ins.) and 6.2 millimetres (0.24 ins.) respectively.
Hail
Small hail fell in 5 showers on the 1st. The earliest shower was mid-morning, with the last one occurring mid-evening. Small hail also occurred in showers during the afternoon of the 23rd.
Thunder
No thunder was heard in this part of Shoreham.
Snow
No sleet or snow was observed in this part of Shoreham.
Wind
Winds were predominantly from the southwest and accounted for about 40% of the daily observations. The cyclonic nature of the month (mean pressure was almost 9 millibars below average) produced winds from a wide variety of directions. The month was not especially windy, although some strong gusts occurred during the first, and again towards the end of March. At Shoreham Airport, southwesterly winds gusted to 41 knots (47 mph) on the morning of the 1st, with southerly gusts peaking at 38 knots (43 mph) early in the morning on the 2nd. There were no further gusts above 30 knots (34 mph) until the afternoon of the 23rd when northwesterlies gusted to 32 knots (37 mph) in showers. Southwesterly winds peaked at 31 knots (34 mph) early in the afternoon on the 27th. The 28th was windy all day, and southwesterly gusts in the evening reached 44 knots (50 mph). The strong winds continued into the early hours of the 29th, with 36 knots (41 mph) recorded just after midnight. The last 2 days of the month were much less windy.
Fog
Fog, dense at first, lasted until late morning on the 6th, and sea fog occurred at times from late morning until evening on the 18th.
Statistics for March 2024
| Reporting Site | Highest Temp | Lowest Temp | Rain Total (mm) | Wettest | Rain days |
| Shoreham A/P | 15.0 | -1.2 | 19 | ||
| Thorney Island | 16.0 | -1.8 | 22 | ||
| Gatwick A/P | 18.8 | -2.2 | 19 | ||
| Herstmonceux | 17.4 | 1.5 | 21 | ||
| Bournemouth (Hurn) | 16.6 | -2.3 | 23 | ||
| Middle Wallop | 16.3 | -3.5 | 24 | ||
| Dieppe | 18.8 | 1.4 | 39 | 6 | 16 |
- Rainfall totals unreliable for all stations