This report describes the typical weather at the Hilton Head Airport (Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, United States) weather station over the course of an average March. It is based on the historical records from 2005 to 2012. Earlier records are either unavailable or unreliable.

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina has a warm humid temperate climate with hot summers and no dry season. The area within 25 mi of this station is covered by oceans and seas (54%), forests (29%), croplands (8%), lakes and rivers (6%), and grasslands (3%).

The month of March is characterized by rising daily high temperatures, with daily highs increasing from 64°F to 71°F over the course of the month, exceeding 79°F or dropping below 55°F only one day in ten.

Daily High and Low Temperature in March

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The daily average low (blue) and high (red) temperature with percentile bands (inner band from 25th to 75th percentile, outer band from 10th to 90th percentile).

Fraction of Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands in March

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The average fraction of time spent in various temperature bands: frigid (below 15°F), freezing (15°F to 32°F), cold (32°F to 50°F), cool (50°F to 65°F), comfortable (65°F to 75°F), warm (75°F to 85°F), hot (85°F to 100°F) and sweltering (above 100°F).

Over the course of March, the length of the day is gradually increasing. From the start to the end of the month, the length of the day increases by 60 minutes, implying an average day-over-day increase of 1.9 minutes.

The shortest day of the month is March 1 with 11:31 hours of daylight; the longest day is March 31 with 12:31 hours of daylight.

Daily Hours of Daylight and Twilight in March

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The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line), with various degrees of daylight, twilight, and night, indicated by the color bands. From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray): full daylight, solar twilight (Sun is visible but less than 6° from the horizon), civil twilight (Sun is not visible but is less than 6° below the horizon), nautical twilight (Sun is between 6° and 12° below the horizon), astronomical twilight (Sun is between 12° and 18° below the horizon), and full night.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:39am on March 10; the latest sunset is at 7:42pm on March 31; the latest sunrise is at 7:38am on March 11; the earliest sunset is at 6:21pm on March 1.

Daylight savings time (DST) starts at 3:00am on March 11, 2012, shifting sunrise and sunset to an hour later.

Daily Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Savings Time in March

The solar day over the course of the year 2012 . From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (solar, civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray. The transitions to and from daylight savings time are indicated by the "DST" labels.

The median cloud cover ranges from 17% (mostly clear) to 26% (mostly clear). The trend is for the sky to be clearing with the median cloud cover decreasing by 9% from the start to the end of the month.

Median Cloud Cover in March

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The median daily cloud cover (black line) with percentile bands (inner band from 40th to 60th percentile, outer band from 25th to 75th percentile).

On March 16, a representative day, the sky is clear or mostly clear 50% of the time, partly cloudy 7% of the time, and mostly cloudy or overcast 22% of the time.

Cloud Cover Types in March

The fraction of time spent in each of the five sky cover categories. From top (most blue) to bottom (most gray), the categories are clear, mostly clear, partly cloudy, mostly cloudy, and overcast. Pink indicates missing data. Outside of the United States clear skies are often reported ambiguously, leading them to be lumped in with the missing data.

The average probability that some form of precipitation will be observed in a given day is 22%, with little variation over the course of the month.

Probability of Precipitation at Some Point in the Day in March

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The fraction of days in which various types of precipitation are observed. If more than one type of precipitation is reported in a given day, the more severe precipitation is counted. For example, if light rain is observed in the same day as a thunderstorm, that day counts towards the thunderstorm totals. The order of severity is from the top down in this graph, with the most severe at the bottom.

Throughout March, the most common forms of precipitation are moderate rain, thunderstorms, light rain, and heavy rain.

Moderate rain is the most severe precipitation observed during 28% of those days with precipitation. It is most likely around March 2, when it is observed during 8% of all days.

Thunderstorms are the most severe precipitation observed during 26% of those days with precipitation. They are most likely around March 14, when it is observed during 6% of all days.

Light rain is the most severe precipitation observed during 22% of those days with precipitation. It is most likely around March 1, when it is observed during 6% of all days.

Heavy rain is the most severe precipitation observed during 14% of those days with precipitation. It is most likely around March 1, when it is observed during 4% of all days.

Types of Precipitation Throughout March

Relative frequency of various types of precipitation over the course of a typical March.

Either snow is exceptionally unlikely to fall at this location in March or this station does not reliably report precipitation types.

The relative humidity typically ranges from 50% (comfortable) to 93% (very humid) over the course of a typical March, rarely dropping below 30% (comfortable) and reaching as high as 100% (very humid).

The air is driest around March 1, at which time the relative humidity drops below 61% (mildly humid) three days out of four; it is most humid around March 28, rising above 91% (very humid) three days out of four.

Relative Humidity in March

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The average daily high (blue) and low (brown) relative humidity with percentile bands (inner bands from 25th to 75th percentile, outer bands from 10th to 90th percentile).

Dew point is often a better measure of how comfortable a person will find the weather than relative humidity because it more directly relates to whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid.

Over the course of a typical March, the dew point typically varies from 39°F (dry) to 59°F (comfortable) and is rarely below 25°F (dry) or above 66°F (muggy).

The time of the month between March 1 and March 31 is the most comfortable, with dew points that are neither too dry nor too muggy.

Dew Point in March

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The daily average low (blue) and high (red) dew point with percentile bands (inner band from 25th to 75th percentile, outer band from 10th to 90th percentile).

Over the course of March typical wind speeds vary from 0 mph to 12 mph (calm to gentle breeze), rarely exceeding 33 mph (high wind).

The highest average wind speed of 7 mph (light breeze) occurs around March 3, at which time the average daily maximum wind speed is 12 mph (gentle breeze).

The lowest average wind speed of 6 mph (light breeze) occurs around March 25, at which time the average daily maximum wind speed is 12 mph (gentle breeze).

Wind Speed in March

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The average daily minimum (red), maximum (green), and average (black) wind speed with percentile bands (inner band from 25th to 75th percentile, outer band from 10th to 90th percentile).

Wind Directions in March

The fraction of time spent with the wind blowing from the various directions over the entire year. Values do not sum to 100% because the wind direction is undefined when the wind speed is zero.

Fraction of Time Spent with Various Wind Directions in March

The fraction of time spent with the wind blowing from the various directions on a daily basis. Stacked values do not always sum to 100% because the wind direction is undefined when the wind speed is zero.