A wealth of weather lore around month of March

One common belief amongst previous generations was that if March was preceded by dry weather, the month itself would be wet

With land at its wettest in years, farmers would welcome winds to dry out sodden fields. Picture: iStock

Was fine spring weather ever needed as badly to drive out winter’s cold from the soil? Our obsession with the elements seems to have reached new heights, this year: not surprising, given all the rain.

But, despite March’s reputation as a month of strong winds, tanks of rain and even frost and snow, there’s a glimmer of hope that lengthening days will bring about improved conditions.

People always expect winds during this month and the old aphorism that March ‘comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb’ has some credence.

With land at its wettest in years, farmers would welcome winds to dry out sodden fields. It’s the same story with gardeners and vegetable growers whose preliminary work has been delayed. The wish is that the customary March 17 deadline _ at least in my part of the world _ for sowing early potatoes can be met.

Looking back just a year, March 2025 was exceptionally pleasant: very dry, with above average sunshine. Met Éireann also confirms the month was warmer than average, with the highest temperature of 19 degrees Centigrade recorded in Mount Dillon, County Roscommon.

Saintly promise

There’s a wealth of weather lore around March. A common belief amongst previous generations was that if it was preceded by dry weather, the month itself would be wet. Hopefully, the opposite is also true! As St Patrick’s Day is the middle of spring, the weather is supposed to improve from that point onwards.

There’s a highly-fanciful belief that the great saint himself promised that the weather would be fine for half of his own day and for every day thereafter. Sound likes a story a traditional Killarney Lakes boatman would tell American tourists.

Some people recall the bitter, long winter of 1947 as a basis for positing that St Patrick’s Day can be a turning point for the better. That winter is remembered for snowfalls, blizzards, and freezing and stormy conditions, from late January.

The winter of 1947 is remembered for snowfalls, blizzards, and freezing and stormy conditions, from late January, before the that set in on March 17.

Thirty consecutive days of snowfall were recorded before a thaw started to set in, on March 17, and things began to change for the better.

Formerly, people also looked to the skies for weather omens, observing the course of the sun, moon and stars for clues. And that brings us to the spring equinox, March 20, when day and night are of equal length.

On that day, the sun moves through the sky in 12 hours, something which happens twice yearly on the spring and autumn equinox. From now on, the sun will take an elevated route and days will be growing longer until it reaches its highest point on the summer solstice, June 21.