Climatological Background In March, the sun crosses the equator (the Equinox) and begins its migration into the Northern Hemisphere. It is the transition from winter to spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when temperatures begin to increase and storm tracks move northward. In the Southern Hemisphere summer is ending and the monsoon rains are retreating northward. 

Monthly Mean Temperature (1961-1990), data from the Climate Research Unit, University of East Anglia

Monthly Mean Precipitation (1960-1991),with data from the Climate Research Unit, University of East Anglia

Temperatures Over Land
North America: With the exception of the western US and southwestern Canada, temperatures continued to be well above average over most of the region and more than 5 C above average in central Canada.
Europe and Asia: Temperatures remained above average over a broad area extending from western Europe eastward into central Asia with the largest departures from average to the east of the Ural mountains.
Africa: Above average conditions prevailed in coastal areas of west Africa from Morocco southward to western Zaire.
Australia: Western Australia saw continued cool conditions with temperatures 2 to 3 C below average.
South America: Temperatures were very close to the climatological average throughout the region with the exception of east-central Brazil and western Venezuela which were slightly warmer than average.

Temperature Difference from the 1961-1990 mean, with data from NCEP Climate Prediction Center, CAMS.

Precipitation
Africa: Unusually dry weather continued in central Africa from northern Zaire eastward to Kenya and northward into Ethiopia. Morocco and northern portions of Western Sahara also saw below average precipitation. By contrast, with the exception of northern South Africa, precipitation was well above average from Namibia eastward through Zambia and Zimbabwe to southern Mozambique and Madagascar.
Australia: Heavy rains, some associated with tropical cyclone activity, resulted in above average precipitation in Western Australia and northern sections of the Northern Territory.
Indonesia: Unusually dry conditions continued over southern Sumatra and western Borneo.
Philippines: Above average rainfall continued over the Phillipines and nearby islands in the South China Sea.
South America: Northwestern Argentina and southern Bolivia had above average rainfall, as did northern and south-central sections of Brazil.
Middle East: Rainfall continued to be below average across much of the Middle East eastward to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
United States: Below average rainfall continued along the immediate gulf coast and in the upper midwest.

Precipitation Difference from 1961-1990 mean, with data from NCEP Climate Prediction Center, CAMS-OPI.

Oceanic Conditions
 Tropics:  Moderate La Niña conditions (below average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the equatorial Pacific) continued in the central Pacific, while continuing to weaken in the east. SST forecasts continue to predict that this event will weaken, reaching neutral conditions by early summer. A shallow lens of above average SSTs have developed in the east Pacific. These above average temperatures have not developed in ways typically associated with El Niño, but will be monitored closely over the coming months.
 Extratropics: Above average SSTs continue to persist in the western and central North Pacific and in the central North Atlantic oceans. In the Southern Hemisphere mid-latitudes, the ocean temperatures continue to be predominantly warmer than average in all three basins,  although cooling somewhat from the previous month.

Monthly Sea Surface Temperature Difference from the 1950-1979 mean, with data from the Environmental Modeling Center, NCEP/NOAA.