March is Roaring Like a Lion

Have you ever heard the saying, "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb"? Do you understand what that means? Well, it means that as March begins, it can still be quite wintry and blustery (windy) even though March 20th marks the official "beginning" of Spring! Then, as the month progresses, it's supposed to calm down, warm up a bit and "go out like a lamb"... quietly.
Too bad weather doesn't work like this... especially where I live, in Wisconsin.

If you live on the East coast, you are experiencing the storm we dealt with the past 2 days. It sure was or is (depending on where you live) ROARING outside like a lion with all the snow this storm has brought to us! At times the storm brought some pretty fierce winds and heavy snow. But once in a while, if you were able to just look around, you could still see the beauty of Mother Nature in all that drama. I had the chance to take my kids sledding with my husband. I didn't do much sledding, but I got to give the kids' sleds a push down the hill and watch them slide down, laughing the whole way. So while I was standing there, I had plenty of time to look around and see the wonder in all that snow (about 10" to be exact). Although the winds were swirling everything around and it was hard to see at times, I just took a moment, stopped and watch the beauty of those snowflakes swirling around. They are pretty amazing things in that each snowflake is different. All that snow. Each snowflake unique. Pretty amazing, if you ask me!

According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (yes, there really IS such a place!), snow is ice crystals which begin in clouds "when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses directly into ice without going through the liquid stage." When it forms, more water vapor from the air accumulates on the ice crystal and creates a snow crystal or pellet and drops to earth. Snow pellets are also known as graupel and they form in clouds when the cold water droplets which are not yet frozen, freeze onto the ice crystal and forms a pellet. Snowflakes differ from snow pellets in that they are just ice crystals that form together without the extra cold water droplets attaching to them.

As for me, I saw both snowflakes and snow pellets yesterday and they combined to create a lot of snow for my kids to play in, my husband to have to snowplow and the beauty of which I was able to appreciate (for now). I am hoping that March can truly "go out like a lamb" by melting some of this snow with warmer temperatures to come this weekend. Living in Wisconsin, I can deal with quite a bit of snow, but after a warm February, I don't think I will be able to welcome it as a guest in my world for too long. I had the taste of Spring and I would like it back please! By next week, if at all possible.

Get out in the snow while you can and enjoy some Backyard Adventures for yourself!
-Cheryl

Resources:
For more fun facts about snow and ice, beautiful photos, and lots of educational resources, please check out the web site for the National Snow and Ice Data Center: http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/snow/