Here, March definitely came in like a lamb. Wind was light and it was clear. It got nasty in the afternoon with lots of wind. However, when March arrived it was nice. I should mention it was minus 16 C (plus 2 F).
Now I like weather sayings and once in awhile I will look for their origins. Origins usually turn up some interesting information. I couldn't say facts or even fake facts but I'd be wrong. Research has uncovered various theories as to why we have special weather sayings. Origins are ancient. They may have a religious aspect. Many refer to agriculture. Others refer to stars and constellations in the solar system.
Origins for in like a lamb go far back and come from various sources. The Leo constellation is high in the sky in March. Some think this influenced the lion part. In many places lambs were born at this time of year. In like a lamb sounds better than in like a kid! Religious beliefs come into play as well.
One thing I notice is that the sayings like groundhog day have a European origin. So I sometimes wonder if the southern hemisphere has the same sayings or do they have their own which apply to their schedule? I'm looking for comments from some Australian followers. I'm sure there are many sayings for African weather. Are any of them the same as what we have?
There are other weather sayings that are not common and we don't know about them.
So do you pay attention to weather sayings? Do you like the sayings?
The photos are from Mar. 21 2013.
Well, my March definitely came in like a lamb. I was up at 1:00 AM and it was clear, calm and minus 11 C (14 F). You have to check this as close to midnight as possible to be accurate. So I guess I can look for some nasty weather at the end of March which wouldn't be a surprise.
Now I'm always interested in the origin of proverbs like In like a lamb out like a lion. It seems you have lots to chose from when it comes to origins of the proverb. I found a couple of explanations today which are interesting.
One example is from a time when people believed in spirits and they didn't want to offend the spirits because the spirits could change the weather. They wanted the weather to be balanced. They wanted pleasant weather. Another uses the stars for an explanation. Leo is a rising sign of the horoscope in March. Aries (goat or kid) is rising in April. Kid didn't sound so good so they used lamb. So that's where lion and lamb come from.
So take your pick. If you don't like these , check the internet and you'll find lots of explanations.
Now the reason I was up at 1:00AM is that I was awakened by bright flashing lights. No I wasn't sick. When I looked out there were three police cars in my intersection! That got my attention. They had the dog unit and were obviously looking for someone. Now I rarely see a police car in my neighborhood. They don't even drive through to take a look. Crime is rare.
So I did what I usually do...go right back to bed. Now the Micro Manager just had to watch what was going on. After half an hour she came back to bed and was none the wiser.
So maybe my March didn't come in like a lamb because of all the police action.
Since it's March 1 and weather is on my mind, the little saying about March 1 came to my mind. I began to think of the origin of the saying. I wondered about the accuracy the statement.
I have more than a passing interest in weather. Yesterday I did a whole post on weather. I have my private pilot's license and a good part of our training was weather and I found it very interesting. The grade eight science course had a unit on weather. I had fun with this unit. To wind up the unit we took a field trip to the radiosonde station and watched them prepare a weather balloon and send it up. It as a spectacular end to a unit. Now the radiosonde is obsolete.
March definitely came in like a lion here. If you check my last post you'll know that conditions were definitely lion like. We had a low of minus 38 C (-24 F) last night and a wind chill of minus 52 C (-33 F)
So today I had to check the statement. I was very surprised to discover where the statement originated. It's based on astronomy. The constellation Leo rises in the east in early march. The Aries constellation sets in the west in late March. So there you have the lion in early March and the lamb in late March. Yes, it was conveniently applied to weather.
Those who follow the Farmer's Almanac will find that the March statement is a standby.
Since I have a bit of a science background , I wonder what the stats are on what happens. What are the odds of this statement being accurate? Does anybody know how to calculate the odds on this statement?
How do you handle statements like "in like a lion and out like a lamb?" Do you have other weather statements that you swear by?
