Utah: Beware The Ides Of The Climate Prediction Center!

We've all heard the warning about the Ides of March. The Ides of March, falling on March 15, is infamous due to the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. The phrase itself originates from the Roman calendar, where “Ides” marked the middle of the month. However, it gained ominous significance after Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, where a soothsayer warns the emperor to "beware the Ides of March." Caesar’s murder by a group of senators, including his close ally Brutus, cemented the day as a symbol of betrayal and political upheaval.

Beyond its historical roots, the Ides of March evokes a broader fear of sudden downfall, deception, and fate’s inescapability. Popular culture has reinforced its ominous reputation, making it a metaphor for unexpected misfortune. While modern society may not literally fear the day, its dark legacy lingers, reminding us that even the most powerful can fall when they least expect it.

Interesting that the Ides of March is linked to deception and misfortune. I'm startting to wonder how much we are exposed to that in our day to day dealings. At the end of February, the Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released the “official thirty day forecast” for the month of March. Take a look.

Looks like it wasn't going to be much of a month for us here in the Intermoountain West. Near normal for both temperatures and precipitation.

But, what a difference a week makes! Look what they were telling just a week later on March 7^th.

According to that, it was very likely that we were going to be dealing with below normal temperatures and above normal precipitation. Which, or course, we certainly did.

And as we sit here on the cusp of the Ides of March for 2025, the forecast for the next 7 days is also calling for some unsettled weather, with cool but not necessarily cold temperatures.

And, without question, we need it! For the first time this morning, when I looked at the Snowpack Map for the state, the southwest part of the state was not shaded in read, and our snowpack here was finally over 50%.

So if out Ides of March for this year mean that we are still in for more winter, especially for our mountains, then bring it on. It would have been nice, though, to have a heads up going into the month.

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I'll bet Ceasar never had to deal with the National Weather Service.