Thick jumpers and gloves were a necessity last month, as records show it was the second coldest March in 30 years.

The month was dominated by cold winds brought in from the east, hard frosts and some wintry showers, with the mean temperature of 5.2°C.

In the past 30 years, only March 2013 was colder with the mean temperature of 3.8°C.

The lowest air temperature last month was minus 2.9°C - this was recorded in the first few hours of the month.

Cold temperatures continued throughout most of the month with 16 nights of ground frost.

Minus 8.0°C, the lowest ground temperature was recorded on the March 9. Minus 7.9°C was also recorded on March 21, which is very rare so late in the season.

The mean wind speed was 17mph, compared to the March mean of 15.2mph, and the maximum gust of 63mph was recorded on March 2.

Many coastal areas around the island were impacted by Storm Emma, which visited the island on March 1 and March 2.

The storm coincided with large high tides, causing significant damage to Douglas and Ramsey promenades.

Railings and pathways were left ruined and the sunken gardens in Douglas were very much sunken by the end of the violent weather.

A section of the sea wall in Ramsey was also left extensively damaged and part of the footpath had collapsed due to the pressure of the pounding waves.

Total precipitation measured at 87.6mm, compared to the long term mean of 66mm. There was plenty of heavy rain and some small amounts of hail, snow and sleet.

The wettest day was the March 5 with 17.9mm recorded.

Among all that cold weather, there was 125.4 hours of bright sunshine, which is slightly above average.