When I was a little kid, my mom would say “rabbits” on the first day of the month — for good luck, I guess. So I have carried along that tradition. Here we are the first day of March, which we weather and climate folks consider to be within the spring mode.
Of course, the weather doesn’t necessarily follow any of man’s set intentions — or the calendar’s for that matter. Today, we can say the month arrived like a lion, somewhat at least, as the weather forecast does not call for clear skies and sunshine.
Quite to the contrary. While folks here at city levels endured a chilly rain most of Monday, our friends and neighbors in the higher elevations above 500 feet were in a winter wonderland with a heavy wet snow falling. Reports of over a foot at the 1,000-foot elevation came to me late Monday.
There were wet snowflakes mixed in even at the lowest elevations at times as well. A vigorous cold front that brought blustery winds Sunday night decided to stall over Southwest Washington and northern Oregon. Rainfall amounts were impressive, with well over 1 inch falling in Vancouver on Monday alone. And our temperatures hovered in the mid- to upper 30s, while some cities in central Washington were basking in the mid-40s. Seems a little backwards, eh?