The name for the month of March derives from the Latin Martius – Mars, the god of war. That’s appropriate, given that March often sees some of the windiest weather of the year – which also explains why our Anglo-Saxon ancestors called March hlyd-monath or hraed-monath, which mean stormy month and rugged month respectively.
The French Republicans, who after the 1789 Revolution created their own short-lived calendar, also referred to the weather in their name for this time of year. Ventôse – meaning windy – began towards the end of February, and followed hard on the heels of Nivôse (snowy) and Pluviôse (rainy), and before the more gentle and welcoming spring months Germinal, Floréal and Prairial.
But March doesn’t always live up to its tempestuous reputation. Indeed January and December are usually windier, and the worst storms to hit the UK – the Burns Day Storm of January 1990, the Great Storm of October 1987 and the earlier, and even more devastating Great Storm of November 1703 – all occurred at other times of year.
March is nevertheless often quite windy. This is partly because as temperatures warm up across the northern hemisphere at this time of year, so wind speeds increase. But it may also be down to a popular 1930s song, March Winds and April Showers, originally performed by Abe Lyman and his California Orchestra, which cemented the month’s blustery reputation in our consciousness. The song itself is of course based on a popular children’s rhyme: “March winds and April showers / Bring forth May flowers”.
