March Almanac
Winter Hangs on Into April
By Clinton S. Powell, Naturalist

This last month of winter and the beginning of spring is always, always a tough month.

Remember last March?

Astounding, extravagant, confusing. This month is one of the reasons the Old Farmer's Almanac is such a valuable reference. But let's remain with Julian; no need to complicate weather other than in our own backyards.

Last year on the 10th of the month, 1.5 inches of snow was recorded; the next day, 4.50 inches, then on March 11, the barometer dropped from 24hg to 22.7hg. This was one of the most drastic barometric changes I've ever recorded. And the recorded snowfall was 9 inches to 14 inches; the next day the accumulated depth was 19 inches to 25 inches. These measurements were made at the Julian CDF; drifted snow accumulated so widely that we will have to live with 24 inches of snow.

To add to the problem of snow, for two weekends traffic was backed up from the west end of Santa Ysabel. The traffic was tighter than a bull in the backseat of a truck. The California Highway Patrol stopped all traffic to Julian unless you had four-wheel drive and, chains.

I've never heard of that before. But many people just parked their cars on the side of the road and jumped into a winter wonderland. Columns of snow seekers fanned out into the white meadows; it looked like the Del Mar Fair. Fortunately, Sunrise Highway, which includes a 6,000-foot altitude, was closed. Highway 79 from Descanso was also closed and at Lake Cuyamaca, only residents were allowed to drive to Julian.

Frustration by local residents who do have four-wheel drive and chains is beyond belief. All it takes is one vehicle to block the road and you need a 50-ton tank to plow your way home, or wherever you are planning to drive. Basically, the best advice is don't even think of hitting the road with anything other than show shoes.

Was last year's snow a record? Not even close.

All of the old timers living in Julian say without question that the winter of 1949 was beyond belief. I've heard from so many residents such as Bud Birdsell, Fred Farmer and Louie Juch that that year was the most snow ever recorded in Julian. You could not see the Tozer Drug Store from the Town Hall, as over 7 1/2 feet of snow accumulated. Snowplows were forced to grade a two-lane road and then the snow on Main Street was 8-feet to 10-feet deep. Even in Wynola 4 feet of snow was recorded, and snow even hit Ramona. Now that was the 100-year snowstorm.

Will we see two feet or more of snow this month? We will know in April. The record temperature for March is a consistent 31 days of hard, tight freeze. The record low is 10 degrees. And once again, this being Southern California, a high temperature of 80 degrees is recorded.

This Southern California mountain range basically drives the residents, weatherman, farmer, the Julian School District, Caltrans and the Department of Public works, nuts. Put on the chains, take them off, then a week later, on they go again. Even 4 inches of snow will stop traffic; some clown will take off in his Buick, and, you can say goodbye to driving anywhere, period.

The average rainfall is 7.02 inches. This recording is a tough one as to accurately measure the rain in a snowstorm varies drastically. Naturally, the colder the temperature, the accumulation of snow will drop dramatically. A wet, somewhat cool snow, which is typical of our mountains, produces the most precipitation.

So, what about that 80 degree high temperature? Caution is always advised; those that have lived here do not breathe a sigh of relief and forget to cover their woodpile. They remain ever so careful about doing anything.

One of the biggest concerns is frozen water pipes. The only advantage I see in frozen water pipes is that they will not burst and roar from water lines until the pipes thaw. But, when will that happen? Occasionally, this occurs at 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. that is worst I believe. Tromping out in the snow and trying to find the water shut off can be as frustrating as finding your cat in three feet of snow. You can hear the water roaring, the cat crying.

Ah, the dilemma of saying farewell to winter and rejoicing at the promise of spring. Don't ever believe that you survived a tough winter, as early April, yep; the April Fool's joke of more snow, frozen water lines is very, very possible.