Fierce March Lion Still Roars

March doesn't seem to be ending like a lamb, does it? With major snowfall, rain and wind for a good portion of the northeast, the month surely roared in like a lion, but that pattern seems to be repeating itself as we close out the first 31 days of the meteorological spring.

As we turn the corner on the last 60 hours of March, here we are enduring another major coastal deluge. At a time the weather should resemble the peacefulness of a lamb (actually, I really don't know how peaceful a lamb is), we are looking at several more days of windswept rain, wind, and coastal and urban/river flooding, as well as disruptive snow in northern New England. Sounds familiar right? It's Déjà vu for NYC-area residents who experienced a similar storm a few weeks ago that left in its wake plenty of coastal and structural damage due to high winds and rising waters.

Well, the good news is if you like lambs, you'll be bleating bahh bahh bahh by the end of the week as a much drier, warmer pattern overtakes the eastern third of the nation. But remember, April showers bring May flowers, so rainy days could and will once again reappear.

Pollen Counts and Forecasts Explained

Spring is inevitably on its way, which means allergy season isn’t far behind. Fortunately for seasonal allergy sufferers, the awesomeness of science helps to provide some relief.

Pollen counts enable pollen forecasters to provide allergy sufferers an opportunity to mitigate their symptoms. A pollen count is a measurement of how much pollen is in the air. This count represents the concentration of all the pollen (or of one particular type, like ragweed) in the air in a certain area at a specific time. It is expressed in grains of pollen per cubic meter over a 24 hour period.

To do a pollen count, a pollen sample is taken using an air-sampling device. These samplers collect particles from the air onto a transparent, sticky surface. The sample is then examined under a microscope, where the pollen grains are counted and identified. Since pollen travels long distances through the air, this count is relevant to a large area, and a count from one sampling site is typically used as data for an entire city.

A pollen forecast is a prediction of what the pollen levels will be in the future, like a weather forecast. Pollen forecasting often has greater value for allergy suffers than a pollen count, because they can use this information to plan their day, including whether or not to take medication.

Pollen forecasting methods consider natural events, besides the recent pollen counts, that will affect future pollen levels. We consider historical pollen counts (which provide predominant pollen and seasonal trend information for a certain area) temperatures, precipitation, and weather forecasts.

Pollen forecasts are geographically specific down to the city. For the pollen forecast in your area, visit pollen.com.

Achoo!

Vernal Equinox - March 20

Vernal Equinox begins Saturday, March 20 at 12:32 p.m. EST

“Equinox” comes from the Latin “equal night.” An equinox occurs when the Sun crosses the celestial equator, making the length of time of daylight equal to (or nearly equal to) the length of nighttime.

Due to the sun's angle and path across the sky during an equinox, days are longer than nights the further you are from the equator. Furthermore, the sun takes longer to rise and set farther from the equator because it does not set straight down - it moves in a horizontal direction.

Cultures around the world mark the vernal equinox in different way. Here’s just a few:

• The March equinox marks the first day of various calendars including the Iranian calendar and the Bahá'í calendar.
• The Jewish Passover usually falls on the first full moon after the Northern Hemisphere vernal equinox, although occasionally (7 times every 19 years) it will occur on the second full moon.
• World Storytelling Day is a global celebration of the art of oral storytelling, celebrated every year on the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, the first day of autumn equinox in the southern.
• In Annapolis, Maryland, boatyard employees and sailboat owners celebrate the spring equinox with the Burning of the Socks Festival. Traditionally, the boating community wears socks only during the winter. These are burned at the approach of warmer weather, which brings more customers and work to the area. Officially, nobody then wears socks until the next equinox.
• Wiccans and many other Neopagans hold religious celebrations of "Ostara" on the spring equinox.
• In Japan, (March) Vernal Equinox is an official national holiday, and is spent visiting family graves and holding family reunions.

Oh Hai Cherry Blossoms

The National Park Service predicted today the cherry blossoms in Washington, DC to be at peak bloom on April 8. The peak bloom date is defined as the day in which 70 percent of the blossoms of the Yoshino Cherry (Prunus x yedoensis) trees that surround the Tidal Basin are open. The date when the Yoshino cherry blossoms reach peak bloom varies from year to year, depending on weather conditions.

This year’s Cherry Blossom Festival runs from March 27-April 11. Festival dates are set based on the average date of blooming (April 4), but nature is not always cooperative. Unseasonably warm and/or cool temperatures have resulted in the Yoshino cherries reaching peak bloom as early as March 15 (1990) and as late as April 18 (1958).

The Festival commemorates the 1912 gift of Japanese cherry trees from the people of Japan to the city of Washington. Hanami (literally meaning “flower viewing") is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers. In Japan, thousands of people fill the parks to hold feasts under the flowering trees, and sometimes these parties go on until late at night.

More information about the National Cherry Blossom Festival can be found here.

From February Fury to March Madness

We all know that February was one of the harshest winter weather months the Eastern third of the country has seen in many, many years. Just look at the following two graphics supplied today by The Weather Channel.

In the first graphic, check out the temperature extremes and just how much of the nation was affected by temperatures running well below average. That, coupled with unusual heavy snowfall amounts as a result of back-to-back-to-back Nor'easters, left major U.S. cities from the Ohio Valley to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast with record setting Februaries. The second graphic shows the states that reported their all time greatest snowfalls for the month of February, as well as those that reported their all time snowiest month ever!

Now as we enter the official start of the meteorological spring (March 1), we also enter tornado season! March tends to host some of the year's most volatile weather across the lower 48. The transition month welcomes cold surges from the north and more frequent warm surges from the south. The clash of these air masses typically sets up across the plains and southeast states before migrating northward and westward later in Spring.

Here's to a crazy Winter and a hopefully crazier Spring!