Despite a pause for snow, spring will resume next week
THE plummeting temperatures have reminded me of the childhood game, grandma’s footsteps. Although actually it may have been cancelled on grounds of ageism and rebranded as statues.
The rules are the same. Players creep up on the unsuspecting grandma/ statue who at any moment can spin around stopping them in their tracks.
Well, we are in the grip of the iciest of stares. Spring, it seems, has been cancelled as well.
The bird nests, the burst buds, the spring blooms and my neighbour’s forsythia, all now mummified in snow. In my neck of the woods in Yorkshire, temperatures were forecast as plunging to -7C last night. In the Highlands overnight temperatures of -15.4C are the coldest in March for a decade.
Today a fresh band of snow moves from the South West to the North East (the same direction spring is travelling).
But fear not. Snow in March is actually, statistically, marginally more likely than snow in December. Despite the longer days the weather is often more variable. That means our nature is well adapted to cope.
Trees that have been slowly unfurling their buds can halt the sap rising through their branches until the weather warms. Later in the season this becomes increasingly difficult as flower buds are far less tolerant than leaves.
It is the same with spring bulbs which are remarkably cold tolerant. Indeed snow can actually function as an insulating layer preventing frost from nipping at the base of plants.
Studies have shown that an extreme drop in temperatures later in the season can impact songbird breeding. But March is still early enough for most birds to adjust accordingly and delay things by a few days.
The melting snow (forecast from tomorrow) will help to refresh ground water which remains perilously low.
So enjoy it while it lasts. By Monday, temperatures will be back in double digits and we will once more be creeping towards spring.*