Why March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb
AccuWeather’s spring forecast is out! Lincoln Riddle spoke with our long-range experts to find out what this spring will be like in the United States.
Finally! The first official day of Spring is in sight. We all know about weather conditions in March, right? In like a lion and out like a lamb…. Or so the old saying goes.
But is the adage accurate from a weather perspective? Is the month really the dividing line between winter and spring as far as temperatures and the likelihood of storms? And is that line usually the official First Day of Spring?
The weather facts
From a weather perspective, the old saying is pretty accurate, especially if you live south of the Dakotas and east of Wyoming. The month of March usually starts out feeling winter-level cold and, despite a few semi-warm days, it remains cold for most of the month.
On average, only states parallel to central Texas or further south won’t experience days below the freezing mark during March. Northern states won’t have their last freeze until late April or even May. .
The real first day of spring
So if the weather starts like winter and ends like spring, when can we expect the change? Usually, the first day of astronomical spring is a marker you can depend on, a good time to change over your wardrobe, set up your patio or plan something fun.
But when exactly is the first day of spring? If you look online you will see it marked as March 19… or March 20… or March 21. That’s because the first day of spring marks the Vernal Equinox, the moment in the northern hemisphere when the sun crosses the equator and days and nights are equally long in hours. In 2025, that event will occur at 5:01 a.m. EDT on Thursday March 20.
But, traditionally, the first day of spring has always been celebrated on March 21. That’s why you will see events, celebrations, and sales at your local garden center on or around that day. To make matters more confusing, astronomers and calendar makers somehow decided that March 20 was the first day of spring in all time zones in North America. All three of these dates have made their way into popular culture as the first day of spring. But, if you want to be accurate or settle an argument, stick with March 20… at least in 2025.
Origins of the saying
Now that we have covered what the weather and the timing of the First Day of Spring, let’s discuss the saying. “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” It’s not entirely clear when or who coined the phrase “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb” but an early citation can be found in Thomas Fuller’s 1732 compendium, Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs; Wise Sentences and Witty Sayings, Ancient and Modern, Foreign and British.
The book also offers other sayings about March weather, like:
“So many mists in March you see / So many frosts in May will be.”
“A Peck of March-Dust, and a Shower in May / Makes the Corn green, and the Fields gay.”
“March many-Weathers rain’d and blow’d / But March grass never did good.”
Related: Spring forecast 2025: US faces split between warm weather, lingering chill
The first day of spring is definitely something to celebrate. By the end of the month of March, most of the US will truly see a shift to nicer weather and more days to get outside and enjoy nature. Many days will be colder than people might like in the early days of the month (sorry northern states), but when March 20 arrives, it means that the new season is here to stay.
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