The Proverbial Easter Storm Never Misses

Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox,(March 21). This is why it can come as early as the third Sunday in March and as late as the fourth Sunday in April. As a child growing up in the 1960's I heard my grandma say something every year that pertained to this annual event that seems to be true. Every time there was rain, hail, snow flurries, cold temperatures and or wind she would say that it was the Easter storm. I began to pay attention and sure enough, in our neck of the woods there would always be an abrupt change in the weather within the week before or the week after Easter Sunday, I have see periods of time where there was rain for more than a week, or extreme heat for weeks at a time during other seasons, but there s always a storm just before or after the Sunday when Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Christ.

If Easter were a fixed date like Christmas, I could understand this phenomena better. It would be easier to figure out if Easter were say always the third Sunday in April, and the weather were stormy the week prior to or after. It’s interesting that the dates when the holiday arrives are so varied yet the pattern remains. There is about a five week period of time when this annual celebration takes place, so I find the timing of the Easter storm to be quite intriguing. One possibility related to spring might be the nor Easter storms which are named because they come from the north east and affect weather between September and April. This might explain why we have this weather pattern in Virginia, but does not give reasoning for the timing each spring. Perhaps the name nor Easter should have a double meaning since the north winds are bringing these storms especially hard during the Easter season.

As I write this it is Good Friday, April 10, 2020. The wind has been blowing very hard here in Roanoke. Va., for three days and the temperatures are cold. I am calling this the March wind in April. Clouds and rain were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday but now it seems there will be sunshine on tomorrow. . I understand that weather patterns in March and April can be unpredictable. Many days it might be sunny and 70 in the morning and chilly and sleeting by the afternoon or windy in the morning then calm by evening. Even so, it actually looks as if my grandma is correct about the harsh weather that comes just before or after Easter. I have not been able to find anything about this interesting occurrence on line, so all I can do is share my truth. I have been noticing this for more than 50 years of my life without fail.. During this time of year, my grandma would say, "You gotta have an Easter storm. If not before then after. There is always an Easter storm”. If there has ever been a period in my life, where the week prior to and also after Easter where the weather was pretty and warm, continuously, I cannot recall it.

I find myself out of habit repeating this Easter storm theory to my grandchildren as I did my children. It is a part of me and if someone came up with a scientific reason for this phenomena I would consider it probably would not even believe it. The thing is that during this storm period the weather is always uncomfortably cold, so that it sticks in my memory. Yesterday in a neighboring county there was a Tornado warning and hail was falling. How can you explain something that takes place during a season whose date in the calendar is so random.? I recall being told that it rained every Memorial Day and took notice that it did for more years than it did not. For three decades everyone in this area has taken notice that when the traveling Fair came to Salem Virginia for 10 days each July, it always rained for at least two or three of those days. I have been noticing this since July 1999 when my family got caught in a downpour at the fair, that turned into a flood. This is different than what happens on Easter because Memorial Day and the Salem fair both take place on the same dates each year.

This year the Covid-19 pandemic will prevent many traditional observances of Easter such as church services, brunches, dinners, plays, pageants, and egg hunts. It did not, however in my neck of the woods, keep the proverbial Easter storm from taking place. I think of the Grinch who said Christmas “came with ribbons, it came without tags, it came without packages. boxes and bags.” The Easter storm in this area came in spite of sheltering in place, social distancing, and everything shutting down. There seems to be no rhyme or reason, neither is their evidence of a spiritual significance to any of this. It simply is what it is.

I’ve talked to several of my cousins who say they remember long deceased relatives talking about the Easter storm, and that they too have taken note of this recurring pattern of weather. Sometimes there simply are no explanations to the things in this life. When that happens, all we can do is go with the flow. I know I will be glad when this storm is over because Spring was spring weeks ago. I long for the warm weather and the cessstion of winds that practically blow me down stairs. Thank goodness for the old adage of “This too shall pass”, because pass it will and hopefully I will be taking note of the Easter storm for many more decades to come.