Country & Coast: Uncertain times in the month of many weathers

This is summed up in many rural sayings, one of which goes: March is the month of many weathers. It often brings a reminder of winter mingled with a foretaste of summer and a bit of everything else from gales to pouring rain. This keeps us on our toes – the fact that yesterday was sunny and warm is no guarantee we shall enjoy the same today or tomorrow. Not in March anyway!

This uncertainty is recognised by many country people whose livelihoods depend upon the climate and their fascination with March weather arises because everything is so unexpected.

Even modern forecasters allow surprises because they think long-term – and here, long term might mean something as soon as the day after tomorrow. Short term might mean weather during the next hour or two.

Farmers sowing crops want to be sure there will be no downpour tomorrow morning or even this afternoon because it could wash away the seeds although gentle rain is an asset.

In March, gardeners might also suffer the loss of their precious seeds through not anticipating the weather or because they didn't check the state of the petals on wood anemones. (They close at the approach of rain.)

Sudden downpours in both March and April are not uncommon. Many March forecasts depended on ancient observations such as a wet March means a good harvest or a windy March foretells a fine May yet these did not arise from scientific analysis but from observations by country folk down the centuries.

Generations would relate their experiences to their families ad infinitum and so imbue them with accumulated knowledge. In time these pieces of local wisdom became recognised as the truth: consequently old weather lore remains widely accepted.

Such sayings were usually condensed into short sentences or quotes so that people could remember them. Similarly, because England was once a religious country, many were associated with saints' days, for example, St David and St Chad, sow peas, good or bad. St Chad's Day is March 1 and St David's March 2.

Whatever the weather, peas had to be sown by the feast of St Benedict, otherwise they would fail.

The saying was, "St Benedict, sow thy peas or keep them in thy rick". A rick was a stack so perhaps this suggested the seeds be thrown away. (St Benedict's day used to be on March 21 but is now July 11).

Lady Day (March 25) was significant because it was both New Year's Day and the beginning of the English legal year.

It was claimed that "If St Mary's be bright and clear, fertile is said to be the year."

But beware of a warm end to March.

This can bring the blackthorn into bloom and then produce a surprising cold spell known as a blackthorn winter.