March: Significance of the Lion-Lamb Folklore
Most people have heard of the saying, “If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb,” but what is the significance of this proverb? Let’s explore its history and dive into the typical U.S. weather patterns during the year’s third month.
One of the messages relayed in the lion-lamb weather folklore comes from belief in “equalizing” the forces of Mother Nature. If the weather in early March is stormy, the saying indicates it will be balanced out with sunshine and quiet weather at the end of the month. A roaring lion is a symbol of evil while a lamb is a symbol of gentleness, so folklore assigned those two animals in the saying, “If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb.”
Another origin of the March lion-lamb proverb is astronomical in nature. The Leo zodiac, which is the lion, is the rising sign in March. April’s zodiac sign is the ram or lamb. Therefore, by context of the zodiac signs, March will come in like a lion and out like a lamb.
One final theory includes the folklore being biblical in origin. This theory suggests Jesus’s first appearance was a sacrificial lamb but returns as the Lion of Judah, so those symbols were used in the saying.
There is other folklore for March besides the lion-lamb proverb. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, a dry March yields a wet May, a soggy March foreshadows a soggy June and frequent, gusty March winds and April showers bring May flowers. Furthermore, if March brings mild and misty weather, May will end up frosty and cold.
So, what weather patterns tend to dominate the U.S. in March? Cold, Canadian air sweeping south through the Rockies teams up with an active storm track coming out of the Southwest to bring Denver its snowiest month of the year. The city averages 8.8 inches of snow in March.
The severe weather season usually gets off to a quick start in March. The severe threat initially begins in the Lower Mississippi Valley and expands rapidly into the southern Plains by the end of the month. The best chance for gusty winds, hail and tornadoes is focused across southern Oklahoma by the first day of April.
The El Nino Southern Oscillation plays a big roll in the frequency of severe weather across the U.S. La Nina is the cooling of the Equatorial Pacific while El Nino is the warming of the Equatorial Pacific. Each of these cycles have the biggest impacts on U.S. weather patterns from December through May.
A March with La Nina in place yields an enhanced risk for more tornadoes and hailstorms than average from the southern Plains to Mid-South. Additionally, March can trigger early season severe weather as far north as the Great Lakes, Tennessee and Ohio valleys, Mid-Atlantic and interior New England.
Meanwhile, El Nino is responsible for having the opposite effect on the start of the severe weather season. There are usually far fewer episodes of severe weather in the southern Plains and Mid-South in March. The Tennessee and Ohio valleys to the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast typically don’t see the severe weather season unfold in March during an El Nino.
The West Coast typically comes out of its wet season in March. Fewer West Coast storms result in less rainfall and mountain snow. Los Angeles sees a drastic drop in rainfall from February to March, with an average of 2.99 inches in February and only 1.73 inches in March. Meanwhile, atmospheric river events can still contribute to excess rainfall in the Northwest in March. Seattle usually jumps from an average of 3.76 inches of rain in February to just over 4 inches in March.
East of the Rockies, the snow season usually sees a downward spiral in March. Minneapolis’s average snowfall drops from 9.5 inches in February to 8.2 inches in March. Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., see about half of their February snowfall (11.7 inches and 5 inches, respectively) in March. Even with an out-of-season Arctic blast, lake-effect snow is rare since the Great Lakes are usually starting to thaw out after being mostly frozen through the end of February.
Rain that pelts Florida comes from large-scale weather systems and March is typically a month like January and February with respect to rainfall amounts. Two and a half to 3 inches of rain is the norm each month from January to March in Orlando, Fla., for instance. It’s still too early, even by the end of March, for the sea breeze thunderstorm season to begin.
March also brings wild swings in temperatures. Be prepared for whatever Mother Nature dishes out this month by keeping the WeatherBug app at your disposal!
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Sources: NOAA, Farmers Almanac and The Guardian
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Story Image: A stormy sky is seen. (Courtesy of Pixabay.com)
