The Snow Dusting of Monday, March 16, 2026 (published 3-19-2026; article #546)

 Introduction

For days, local weather prognosticators were warning us about the forthcoming “weather-aware” event. The early spring weather pattern, which we had been enjoying, changed. Last Monday, March 16, the rain, overnight and into the early morning, ushered in a cold front, which dropped the temperature throughout the day.

Welcome, dear reader, to the 115th entry in the Life (such as it is) topic section. This brief article pokes, in kindness, some lighthearted fun at local weather forecasters. First, however, we step back in time four years to the blizzard of March 2022.

The Blizzard of Saturday, March 12, 2022

Four years ago, on Saturday, March 12, 2022, the next-day transition to so-called Daylight Savings (“guvrmint”) Time loomed before us. Meteorological spring had already started on the first of March.

On that Saturday, I measured seven and a half inches of snow in the front yard. That was a real snow! The article from Saturday, 3/12/2022, was about that springtime blizzard and includes a brief audiovisual clip of me measuring the snow.

The Snow Dusting of Monday, March 16, 2026

Last Monday, the temperature at dawn was a balmy 58 degrees Fahrenheit. The overnight rain continued until early morning, when the temperature began to fall.

Area weather prognosticators predicted the rain and temperature drop, but they claimed the afternoon would bring only light snow flurries. From around 12 to 4:30 PM, however, we experienced significant bursts of snowfall. At times, snow was falling so thickly that I could barely make out nearby houses and woodlands.

Of course, the ground was too warm for the snow to accumulate much. At 4:36 PM, I took the following photograph of the snow dusting on the front yard and the roof:

A few minutes later, at 5 PM, I noticed the temperature was 38 degrees Fahrenheit. If the ground had been cold, and if the temperature had dropped below freezing, we would have seen significant snow accumulation, similar to four years ago.

Conclusion

Meteorology is not an exact science. A five-day forecast predicts weather accurately 90% of the time. A seven-day forecast is about 80% accurate. A ten-day forecast, however, is a toss-up with 50% accuracy. Source: “How Reliable Are Weather Forecasts?” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS)

Last Sunday night into Monday, local meteorologists predicted correctly the overnight rain and dropping temperatures. Their prediction of snow flurries, in contrast, turned into heavy snowfall, which could not accumulate well.

This Appalachian Irishman enjoyed a moment of redbud winter. For the last two days, the lows and highs were in the mid-to-upper 20s and low-to-mid 40s. This morning, the temperature at dawn was 28 degrees, but under a clear, crisp blue sky, the high should reach into the 60s. Redbud winter lasted three days.