Why Will You Still Need To Stock Up On Wood In Spring?

The start of March is a curious time. According to the Met Office, this is when spring starts, as opposed to the astronomical definition that places the start of spring at the equinox (March 20th). Either way, spring is definitely close at hand.

For anyone who has used a wood-burning stove to stay warm over the winter, this may seem like a time to hold back on buying firewood, in anticipation that the cold days will soon be past and we can all look forward to lots of warm sunshine.

However, it isn't that simple. The days may be getting longer in a linear, predictable way, but the weather never quite follows.

We all love to think of spring as a time of bright flowers and lolloping lambs, but it is easy to forget that winter does not give up its icy grip as easily as one might hope.

Even in winter, there is a difference between December and the later months of January and February, with the latter being colder and more prone to snowfall.

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However, this difference carries on into spring. People may talk (or sing) about a white Christmas, but, bizarre though it may seem, it is actually true that Britons are more likely to experience a white Easter.

As Easter is a movable feast, snow is much more likely when it falls in March than this year, when Easter Sunday is on April 5th. Nonetheless, this does act as a reminder that the early part of spring can still be very cold.

Therefore, this is not a time to hold back on the firewood. Some very cold days may yet be on the way. That may not quite mean something like the 'Beast from the East' that struck in February and March 2018, but there will still be good reasons to keep the stove lit in March.

• by Admin