Spring bloomed two weeks ago so you might be wondering why you still have to cuddle under your quilt to beat the lingering chill.

The temperature in March, which was slightly colder than the average over the past 30 years, extended the need for thicker jackets, scarves and even gloves for some.

March days, with an average high of 16.3°C, were 1°C colder than the March mean for the last 30 years, the Meteorological Office said.

The warmest day this year was last Tuesday with a temperature of 22.8°C. The warmest March day on record was in 2001 when a high of 33.5°C had been reached on March 25.

March nights, with a mean of 10.4°C, were also slightly colder than average. The lowest temperature reached was 6.5°C on March 22 and 23. However, March 3 and 5 in 1949, with a low of 2.2°C, were the coldest March nights since 1922.

The mean temperature last month was 13.4°C, less than half a degree lower than the norm for the last 30 years for the same month.

The warmest March since 1923 was that of 2001 with 16.9°C and the coolest was recorded in 1953 with a mean of 11.4°C.

Last month, there was an average of seven hours and 40 minutes of bright sunshine a day, which was within the average since 1927.

A total of 39.8 millimetres of rain fell, that is, 2.1 millimetres less than the last 30-year average for the month.

The wind was slightly more than the March average since 1947 with a mean speed of 10.2 knots. The highest gust, recorded on March 4, reached 46 knots.