Rochester weather in March

In March, Rochester sees average daytime highs of 39°F and overnight lows near 28°F, with 3.1 in of precipitation across 11.7 wet days and about 11.6 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 36°F in the first days to 43°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% of the time in March, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 54 min at the start of March to 12 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Rochester's 8th-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Rochester's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 39°; 9th warmest
Overnight low: 28°; 3rd coldest
Precipitation: 3.1 in; 11.7 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 36 min; 6:31 AM – 6:09 PM
Cloud cover: 68%; 8th clearest
Wind: 11 mph; 6th windiest
Solar energy: 3.81 kWh/m²
Travel score: 0.1; out of 10

Rochester is county seat of Monroe County, New York, United States.

Density: 2,180/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1834

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← February Rochester year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 36°F in the first days to 43°F by the end.

A typical March day in Rochester reaches about 39°F in the afternoon and slips back to 28°F overnight — a 12°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 28°F and 53°F. Set against its neighbours, March runs about 6°F warmer than February and about 10°F cooler than April.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°F)	35	35	36	36	36	36	37	37	37	37	38	38	38	38	38	39	39	39	40	40	40	41	41	41	42	42	43	43	43	44	44
Avg low (°F)	24	24	24	24	24	24	25	25	25	26	26	26	26	27	27	27	28	28	28	29	29	29	30	30	31	31	31	32	32	33	33

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	35	24
2	35	24
3	36	24
4	36	24
5	36	24
6	36	24
7	37	25
8	37	25
9	37	25
10	37	26
11	38	26
12	38	26
13	38	26
14	38	27
15	38	27
16	39	27
17	39	28
18	39	28
19	40	28
20	40	29
21	40	29
22	41	29
23	41	30
24	41	30
25	42	31
26	42	31
27	43	31
28	43	32
29	43	32
30	44	33
31	44	33

How March really feels in Rochester

Once humidity and wind are folded in, March averages 0 days that feel above 90°F and 31 that feel at or below 32°F — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 32°F

7 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

The story in March is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Rochester weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 9th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°F)	Rainfall (inches)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	33° / 22°	3.4	15.5	14	9.2	0.0
Feb	33° / 21°	2.6	10.9	9.3	10.2	0.0
Mar	39° / 28°	3.1	11.7	5.9	11.6	0.1
Apr	50° / 38°	3.9	11.8	2.2	13.1	2.1
May	60° / 48°	3.2	11.4	0	14.4	4.5
Jun	70° / 58°	3.5	11.5	0	15.1	6.3
Jul	77° / 65°	3.5	11.1	0	14.9	6.8
Aug	76° / 65°	3.2	11.7	0	13.8	6.8
Sep	71° / 58°	3.4	10.7	0	12.3	6.5
Oct	59° / 48°	4.3	13.3	0.1	10.8	4.1
Nov	47° / 37°	3.7	14	3.9	9.5	1.4
Dec	38° / 29°	3.7	15.8	10.6	8.9	0.0

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 66%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	28	29	29	29	30	31	31	31	32	33	33	34	34	35	35	35	35	36	36	37	37	37	38	38	37	37	37	37	37	37	37
Cloudier (%)	72	71	71	71	70	69	69	69	68	67	67	66	66	65	65	65	65	64	64	63	63	63	62	62	63	63	63	63	63	63	63

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	28	72
2	29	71
3	29	71
4	29	71
5	30	70
6	31	69
7	31	69
8	31	69
9	32	68
10	33	67
11	33	67
12	34	66
13	34	66
14	35	65
15	35	65
16	35	65
17	35	65
18	36	64
19	36	64
20	37	63
21	37	63
22	37	63
23	38	62
24	38	62
25	37	63
26	37	63
27	37	63
28	37	63
29	37	63
30	37	63
31	37	63

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitationSnow

Rochester gets around 3.1 in of rain and snow over 11.7 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 38% and peaks near 40% on the wettest days, and about 6 days bring snow.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	38	38	38	38	38	37	37	37	37	37	37	36	36	36	37	37	37	38	38	39	39	40	40	40
Snow chance (%)	28	27	27	26	26	25	25	24	24	23	22	22	21	21	20	19	19	18	17	16	16	15	14	14	14	13	13	13	13	13	13

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	39	28
2	39	27
3	39	27
4	39	26
5	39	26
6	39	25
7	39	25
8	38	24
9	38	24
10	38	23
11	38	22
12	38	22
13	37	21
14	37	21
15	37	20
16	37	19
17	37	19
18	37	18
19	36	17
20	36	16
21	36	16
22	37	15
23	37	14
24	37	14
25	38	14
26	38	13
27	39	13
28	39	13
29	40	13
30	40	13
31	40	13

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of March feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, March lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in March

Winds average 11 mph in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 10 mph on the calmest days to 11 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (mph)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

	Wind speed (mph)	Feels
1	11	light breeze
2	11	light breeze
3	11	light breeze
4	11	light breeze
5	11	light breeze
6	11	light breeze
7	11	light breeze
8	11	light breeze
9	11	light breeze
10	11	light breeze
11	11	light breeze
12	11	light breeze
13	11	light breeze
14	11	light breeze
15	11	light breeze
16	11	light breeze
17	11	light breeze
18	11	light breeze
19	11	light breeze
20	11	light breeze
21	11	light breeze
22	11	light breeze
23	11	light breeze
24	11	light breeze
25	10	light breeze
26	10	light breeze
27	10	light breeze
28	10	light breeze
29	10	light breeze
30	10	light breeze
31	10	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 54 min at the start of March to 12 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 90 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 6:57 AM to 6:04 AM, and sunset from 5:50 PM to 6:27 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	10.9	10.9	11.0	11.0	11.1	11.1	11.2	11.2	11.3	11.3	11.4	11.4	11.5	11.5	11.6	11.6	11.7	11.7	11.8	11.8	11.9	11.9	12.0	12.0	12.1	12.1	12.2	12.2	12.3	12.3	12.4
Sunrise (AM)	6:57	6:55	6:54	6:52	6:50	6:49	6:47	6:45	6:43	6:42	6:40	6:38	6:36	6:35	6:33	6:31	6:29	6:27	6:26	6:24	6:22	6:20	6:18	6:17	6:15	6:13	6:11	6:09	6:07	6:06	6:04
Sunset (PM)	5:50	5:52	5:53	5:54	5:56	5:57	5:58	5:59	6:01	6:02	6:03	6:04	6:05	6:07	6:08	6:09	6:10	6:12	6:13	6:14	6:15	6:16	6:18	6:19	6:20	6:21	6:22	6:24	6:25	6:26	6:27

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.9	6:57	5:50
2	10.9	6:55	5:52
3	11.0	6:54	5:53
4	11.0	6:52	5:54
5	11.1	6:50	5:56
6	11.1	6:49	5:57
7	11.2	6:47	5:58
8	11.2	6:45	5:59
9	11.3	6:43	6:01
10	11.3	6:42	6:02
11	11.4	6:40	6:03
12	11.4	6:38	6:04
13	11.5	6:36	6:05
14	11.5	6:35	6:07
15	11.6	6:33	6:08
16	11.6	6:31	6:09
17	11.7	6:29	6:10
18	11.7	6:27	6:12
19	11.8	6:26	6:13
20	11.8	6:24	6:14
21	11.9	6:22	6:15
22	11.9	6:20	6:16
23	12.0	6:18	6:18
24	12.0	6:17	6:19
25	12.1	6:15	6:20
26	12.1	6:13	6:21
27	12.2	6:11	6:22
28	12.2	6:09	6:24
29	12.3	6:07	6:25
30	12.3	6:06	6:26
31	12.4	6:04	6:27

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 3.81 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.23 kWh/m² to a high of 6.26 kWh/m² in June across the year — March's 3.81 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	3.1	3.2	3.2	3.3	3.3	3.4	3.4	3.5	3.5	3.6	3.6	3.7	3.7	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.9	3.9	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.1	4.1	4.1	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.3	4.3
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	3.1	Moderate
2	3.2	Moderate
3	3.2	Moderate
4	3.3	Moderate
5	3.3	Moderate
6	3.4	Moderate
7	3.4	Moderate
8	3.5	Moderate
9	3.5	Moderate
10	3.6	Moderate
11	3.6	Moderate
12	3.7	Moderate
13	3.7	Moderate
14	3.8	Moderate
15	3.8	Moderate
16	3.8	Moderate
17	3.9	Moderate
18	3.9	Moderate
19	4.0	Moderate
20	4.0	Moderate
21	4.0	Bright
22	4.0	Bright
23	4.1	Bright
24	4.1	Bright
25	4.1	Bright
26	4.2	Bright
27	4.2	Bright
28	4.2	Bright
29	4.2	Bright
30	4.3	Bright
31	4.3	Bright

Planning a trip in March

Is March a good time to visit Rochester?

Our two travel scores rate March for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

0.1

Sightseeing

9th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

7th-best month of the year

March is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Rochester.

What to pack for Rochester in March

From March's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In March, Rochester sees daytime highs around 39°F and nights near 28°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

Sea temperature near Rochester in March

The nearest coast averages about 37°F in March — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 15 mi away) is warmest in August at about 72°F and coldest in March near 37°F.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 16 to Sep 11 — about 1.9 months when the water holds above 68°F.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°F)	39	37	37	38	42	56	69	72	67	58	49	43
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Refreshing	Refreshing	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°F)	Comfort
Jan	39	Bracing
Feb	37	Bracing
Mar	37	Bracing
Apr	38	Bracing
May	42	Bracing
Jun	56	Bracing
Jul	69	Refreshing
Aug	72	Refreshing
Sep	67	Cool
Oct	58	Bracing
Nov	49	Bracing
Dec	43	Bracing

UV index in Rochester in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Rochester peaks around June 23 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	1	2	4	5	7	8	8	6	6	3	2	1
Level	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	Very high	Very high	High	High	Moderate	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	1	Low
Feb	2	Moderate
Mar	4	Moderate
Apr	5	High
May	7	High
Jun	8	Very high
Jul	8	Very high
Aug	6	High
Sep	6	High
Oct	3	Moderate
Nov	2	Low
Dec	1	Low

Location & terrain

Where is Rochester?

Rochester sits at 43.2°N, 77.6°W, 505 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Brighton, 3.1 mi away.

Topography around Rochester

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Rochester.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Rochester has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 433 ft around an average of 525 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 630 ft; within 50 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,067 ft.

The land around Rochester is covered by artificial surfaces (53%) and trees (38%) within 2 miles, trees (52%) within 10 miles, and water (37%) and trees (35%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

433 ft

artificial surfaces 53%

10 miles

630 ft

trees 52%

50 miles

2,067 ft

water 37%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← February Rochester year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

March weather nearby: Brighton 3.1 mi · Gates-North Gates 4.3 mi · Irondequoit 4.3 mi · Henrietta 6.8 mi · Batavia 31 mi · Lockport 54 mi · Auburn 55 mi · East Amherst 55 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs: Type A / B; 120 V · 60 Hz
Prices: ≈ 100% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $90,027; 2025
Happiness: 6.8 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 98%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 5.8; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 12.7; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
Religion

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Rochester (43.1548°, -77.6156°, elevation 505 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	35	24
2	35	24
3	36	24
4	36	24
5	36	24
6	36	24
7	37	25
8	37	25
9	37	25
10	37	26
11	38	26
12	38	26
13	38	26
14	38	27
15	38	27
16	39	27
17	39	28
18	39	28
19	40	28
20	40	29
21	40	29
22	41	29
23	41	30
24	41	30
25	42	31
26	42	31
27	43	31
28	43	32
29	43	32
30	44	33
31	44	33

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	28	72
2	29	71
3	29	71
4	29	71
5	30	70
6	31	69
7	31	69
8	31	69
9	32	68
10	33	67
11	33	67
12	34	66
13	34	66
14	35	65
15	35	65
16	35	65
17	35	65
18	36	64
19	36	64
20	37	63
21	37	63
22	37	63
23	38	62
24	38	62
25	37	63
26	37	63
27	37	63
28	37	63
29	37	63
30	37	63
31	37	63

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	39	28
2	39	27
3	39	27
4	39	26
5	39	26
6	39	25
7	39	25
8	38	24
9	38	24
10	38	23
11	38	22
12	38	22
13	37	21
14	37	21
15	37	20
16	37	19
17	37	19
18	37	18
19	36	17
20	36	16
21	36	16
22	37	15
23	37	14
24	37	14
25	38	14
26	38	13
27	39	13
28	39	13
29	40	13
30	40	13
31	40	13

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	35	24
2	35	24
3	36	24
4	36	24
5	36	24
6	36	24
7	37	25
8	37	25
9	37	25
10	37	26
11	38	26
12	38	26
13	38	26
14	38	27
15	38	27
16	39	27
17	39	28
18	39	28
19	40	28
20	40	29
21	40	29
22	41	29
23	41	30
24	41	30
25	42	31
26	42	31
27	43	31
28	43	32
29	43	32
30	44	33
31	44	33

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	28	72
2	29	71
3	29	71
4	29	71
5	30	70
6	31	69
7	31	69
8	31	69
9	32	68
10	33	67
11	33	67
12	34	66
13	34	66
14	35	65
15	35	65
16	35	65
17	35	65
18	36	64
19	36	64
20	37	63
21	37	63
22	37	63
23	38	62
24	38	62
25	37	63
26	37	63
27	37	63
28	37	63
29	37	63
30	37	63
31	37	63

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	39	28
2	39	27
3	39	27
4	39	26
5	39	26
6	39	25
7	39	25
8	38	24
9	38	24
10	38	23
11	38	22
12	38	22
13	37	21
14	37	21
15	37	20
16	37	19
17	37	19
18	37	18
19	36	17
20	36	16
21	36	16
22	37	15
23	37	14
24	37	14
25	38	14
26	38	13
27	39	13
28	39	13
29	40	13
30	40	13
31	40	13

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	35	24
2	35	24
3	36	24
4	36	24
5	36	24
6	36	24
7	37	25
8	37	25
9	37	25
10	37	26
11	38	26
12	38	26
13	38	26
14	38	27
15	38	27
16	39	27
17	39	28
18	39	28
19	40	28
20	40	29
21	40	29
22	41	29
23	41	30
24	41	30
25	42	31
26	42	31
27	43	31
28	43	32
29	43	32
30	44	33
31	44	33

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	28	72
2	29	71
3	29	71
4	29	71
5	30	70
6	31	69
7	31	69
8	31	69
9	32	68
10	33	67
11	33	67
12	34	66
13	34	66
14	35	65
15	35	65
16	35	65
17	35	65
18	36	64
19	36	64
20	37	63
21	37	63
22	37	63
23	38	62
24	38	62
25	37	63
26	37	63
27	37	63
28	37	63
29	37	63
30	37	63
31	37	63

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	39	28
2	39	27
3	39	27
4	39	26
5	39	26
6	39	25
7	39	25
8	38	24
9	38	24
10	38	23
11	38	22
12	38	22
13	37	21
14	37	21
15	37	20
16	37	19
17	37	19
18	37	18
19	36	17
20	36	16
21	36	16
22	37	15
23	37	14
24	37	14
25	38	14
26	38	13
27	39	13
28	39	13
29	40	13
30	40	13
31	40	13

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100