NCEP/NCAR reanalysis surface temperature down 0.2°C March 2020.

The Moyhu NCEP/NCAR index came in at 0.356°C in March, following 0.554°C in February, on a 1994-2013 anomaly base. It marks the end of a three month period of warmth. It began with a deep dip, of a kind that is common historically, but rare recently. There was only a partial recovery, and it was the coolest month since last June..

As with the warm months, the main feature was a band of warmth from Eastern Europe right across Russia and Siberia. But Canada and the adjacent Arctic was cold, as was Antarctica. South Asia,, too, was cool. The warm blob to the East of New Zealand persists.

This post is part of a series that has now run for some years. The NCEP/NCAR integrated average is posted daily here, along with monthly averages, including current month, and graph. When the last day of the month has data (usually about the 3rd) I write this post.
The TempLS mesh data is reported here, and the recent history of monthly readings is here. Unadjusted GHCN is normally used, but if you click the TempLS button there, it will show data with adjusted, and also with different integration methods. There is an interactive graph using 1981-2010 base period here which you can use to show different periods, or compare with other indices. There is a general guide to TempLS here.

The reporting cycle starts with a report of the daily reanalysis index on about the 4th of the month. The next post is this, the TempLS report, usually about the 8th. Then when the GISS result comes out, usually about the 15th, I discuss it and compare with TempLS. The TempLS graph uses a spherical harmonics to the TempLS mesh residuals; the residuals are displayed more directly using a triangular grid in a better resolved WebGL plot here.

A list of earlier monthly reports of each series in date order is here:

1. NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis report
2. TempLS report
3. GISS report and comparison with TempLS