I haven’t posted in a while, but I am interested in this past winter’s weather, especially the temperatures, because I don’t think we had as many cold days as we are usually supposed to have in this area. Here are some monthly breakdowns I found.

From www.accuweather.com:

Conditions for March 2008

Date Actuals (° F) Normals (° F)
High Low Avg High Low Avg
1 47 34 40 46 31 38
2 48 30 39 46 31 39
3 67 33 50 47 31 39
4 72 58 65 47 32 39
5 68 39 54 47 32 40
6 56 32 44 48 32 40
7 49 34 42 48 32 40
8 67 36 52 48 33 41
9 44 31 38 49 33 41
10 50 29 40 49 33 41
11 55 42 48 50 34 42
12 52 39 46 50 34 42
13 57 31 44 50 34 42
14 63 41 52 51 35 43
15 59 44 52 51 35 43
16 52 37 44 51 35 43
17 53 32 42 52 35 44
18 47 36 42 52 36 44
19 63 42 52 52 36 44
20 62 36 49 53 36 44
21 51 36 44 53 37 45
22 53 37 45 53 37 45
23 49 30 40 54 37 45
24 51 32 42 54 37 46
25 51 30 40 54 38 46
26 65 46 56 55 38 46
27 50 41 46 55 38 47
28 63 39 51 56 39 47
29 50 32 41 56 39 47
30 51 28 40 56 39 48
31 M M M 57 39 48

===============================
AccuWeather Forecast
for PHILADELPHIA
===============================

TODAY
Windy with clouds and sun
H 54

TONIGHT
Partly cloudy
L 31

THURSDAY
Partly sunny
H 51 / L 40

FRIDAY
Cloudy with a little rain
H 58 / L 40

SATURDAY
Colder; rain in the afternoon
H 48 / L 34

SUNDAY
Chance of rain in the morning
H 44 / L 29

I heard that it rained while we were gone. Two days, according to www.weather.com. It rained this morning, but I’m not sure if that counts. So as of now, I will say that we are up to 3 days of rain in March, so 3 days of frost in May.

It’s heaven here in Southern California. Today was the third straight day of bright sunshine all day and temps in the low 70s.

I wonder what Philly will be like:

Tue
Mar 11
Mostly Sunny
49°/33°
Wed
Mar 12
AM Rain / Snow Showers
49°/29°
Thu
Mar 13
Partly Cloudy
52°/39°
Fri
Mar 14
Showers
58°/37°
Sat
Mar 15
Few Showers
53°/34°
Sun
Mar 16
Partly Cloudy
51°/32
Mon
Mar 17
Mostly Cloudy
48°/37°
Tue
Mar 18
Showers
55°/35°

Lovely.

Yesterday was the most beautiful day we could have asked for. It got up into the 70s and was bright and sunshiney all day. I didn’t even need a jacket at night, just a light sweater.

Today was absolutely beautiful. Sunny and warm. It was in the mid-high 60s all day. Currently at 11:15 pm it is 49 and clear, with the rest of the weekend shaping up to look the same way. What’s it like in Philadelphia?

Today was our first day of rain.

Day of rain count: 1

Day of frost count in May (according to myth): 1

What the Old Farmer’s Almanac is predicting for March in Philadelphia:

MARCH 2008: temperature 46.5° (2° above avg. north, 5° above south); precipitation 2.5″ (1″ below avg. north, 2″ below south); Mar 1-3: Sunny, mild; Mar 4-7: Rain, cool; Mar 8-12: Showers; Mar 13-17: Rain and snow, then sunny, cool; Mar 18-22: Scattered t-storms, warm; Mar 23-26: Sunny, mild; Mar 27-31: Very warm, then t-storms.

Here are the latest forecasts for our upcoming trip to Sonoma;

www.weather.com:
Thu Mar 6 Partly Cloudy
67°/39°

Fri Mar 7 Mostly Cloudy
68°/44°

Sat Mar 8 Cloudy
66°/44°

Sun Mar 9 Partly Cloudy
65°/46°

Mon Mar 10 Few Showers
64°/43°

www.accuweather.com
Thursday, Mar 6
High: 66 °F RealFeel®: 68 °F
Mostly sunny

Thursday Night, Mar 6
Low: 39 °F RealFeel®: 42 °F
Clear and chilly

Friday, Mar 7
High: 67 °F RealFeel®: 69 °F
Sunny most of the day

Friday Night, Mar 7
Low: 39 °F RealFeel®: 36 °F
Partly cloudy and chilly

Saturday, Mar 8
High: 73 °F RealFeel®: 72 °F
Some sun

Saturday Night, Mar 8
Low: 45 °F RealFeel®: 41 °F
Cloudy most of the time

Sunday, Mar 9
High: 73 °F RealFeel®: 71 °F
Mostly cloudy

Sunday Night, Mar 9
Low: 46 °F RealFeel®: 40 °F
Rather cloudy

National Weather Service:
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 35. North northwest wind between 5 and 8 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 68. North wind 5 to 7 mph becoming west.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38.

Saturday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40.

Sunday: A slight chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66.

Sunday Night: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43.

Monday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64

In my last post, I stated a myth that said however many days of mist in March, there will be that many days of frost in May. Today’s forecast from Accuweather is calling for some mist, so I’ll have to watch out for that. This may be our day #1 of mist. More later.

We all know the myth of March and the lion and the lamb, right? Where did this myth come from and is it true? Obviously, March is a month where anything can happen, weather-wise because it is the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Today someone from Ottowa Citizen Online wrote this article explaining that the myth is really just that–a myth.

The Naturalist’s Almanac gives this bit of advice for weather trackers:

To test whether the lion/lamb proverb is true for March in Vermont — or wherever else you might live — it might be an interesting experiment in old-fashioned weather observation to pay attention to this particular March.. Start with the first, but include several additional days to give the early part of the month a fair chance to show itself, and notice how lion-like the weather is.

Then, while you’re waiting for the other end of the month to arrive, you can keep yourself attentive to the weather by counting the number of mists because another old weather proverb says, “So many mists in March, so many frosts in May.” During the last week of March start looking for the promised lamb-like weather. If the weather is pleasant, enjoy it, but don’t expect it to last because yet another old weather proverb says, “April borrows three days of March and they are ill.”

I’ll have to check on that April myth, as well, when the time comes.

Here in Philadelphia, March 1st was windy and cold, but the 2nd was warmer and pleasant (I even sat outside in the sun for a little while) and today is sunny and should get up into the 50s. I’ll keep track of the weather to see how true this myth fares this year.