Unseasonably warm March weather broke Sacramento heat records. What lies ahead?

Unseasonably warm March temperatures broke or tied numerous weather records in Sacramento, the National Weather Service said.

It was the warmest March on record in Sacramento, the agency said.

A high pressure ridge created an extended “heat dome” over Sacramento and Northern California for the last two weeks of March, driving up temperatures, Bakari Anderson, a meteorologist with the Sacramento office, said.

“We saw several daily record highs broken,” Anderson said.

California water officials said the unseasonable weather led to the second-lowest April 1 snowpack measurement in 75 years, according to reporting from The Bee.

Sacramento saw daily highs of up to 88 degrees several times in March, breaking or tying earlier daily records, including one set in 1914, the agency said.

The 88-degree temperatures also beat the previous record monthly high for March for Sacramento.

The city saw other record-breaking daily temperatures, as well.

Elsewhere in California, Redding saw highs of up to 93 degrees, Stockton saw highs of up to 90 degrees and Modesto saw highs up to 91 degrees in March, also setting local records.

What heat records were broken or tied in Sacramento in March?

The weather service data shows Sacramento tied or beat earlier records for daily highs several times in the second half of March:

• On March 16, the 84-degree high barely edged out the earlier record of 83 set in 1972.
• On March 18, the 88-degree high beat the previous record of 82 set in 1914.
• On March 19, the 87-degree high overtook the earlier record of 81 set in 2015.
• On March 20, the 88-degree high beat the previous record of 82 set in 2004.
• On March 21, the 85-degree high overcame the earlier record of 81 set in 2022.
• On March 23, the 83-degree high beat the previous record of 81 set in 2022.
• On March 24, the 85-degree high overtook the earlier record of 82 set in 2022.
• On March 29, the 88-degree high beat the previous record of 84 degrees set in 2015 and 2018.

Daily highs tied previous records in Sacramento on March 15, March 22 and March 28.

What does record-breaking heat mean for spring weather?

While the high temperatures of late March have eased off with cooler weather and rain coming to Sacramento this week, the remainder of spring also could be warmer than usual, Anderson said.

Forecasters predict above-normal temperatures for the Sacramento area from April through June, but it’s unclear so far whether that will be another mini-heat wave or a string of slightly higher daily temperatures, he said.

This story was originally published April 1, 2026 at 11:27 AM.