The Roar of March's Lion



We’re a third of the way into March, and the month has been true to its traditional weather variability. Here in the NC Blue Ridge mountains, we have had several significant 24-hour periods of non-stop winds recorded in the 45–75 mph range on our neighbor’s wireless weather station.

“March comes in like a lion, and out like a lamb.” English Proverb.

The saying was one of the many weather folklore in “Gnomologia; Adagies and Proverbs; Wise Sentences and Witty Saying, Ancient and Modern, Foreign and British,” compiled by Thomas Fuller in 1732.

Unfortunately, the March expression is not a valid weather predictor but merely a myth. Many of these concepts were based on ancestral beliefs that weather could be adversely affected by evil spirits; others were founded on the idea that there should be a balance between life and weather.

This specific statement is believed to have evolved in relation to astrology. March begins with the constellation Leo (the lion) rising in the east; the month ends with Aries (the ram or lamb) setting in the west.

In reality, these weather patterns in the US and Europe are likely related to the Northern Hemisphere jet stream, which seems to be gradually changing its course over time.

Do you have any favorite traditional weather tales? Have you seen them be true or false in relation to real-life conditions?

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