February is a rough month in Maine. While December can be autumn-like if we’re lucky and while January can be light on the snow at times, February is winter. Downright winter. And for most years, it’s when the greatest quantity of snow falls. Week after week. In snows during February.
What’s strange is that by the time February rolls around, Mother Nature decides to let it snow in rapid succession, such as every other day. Sometimes the snow falls once per week, but this year it’s been falling much more frequently for about two weeks straight. Not much accumulates during each event – perhaps an inch or so, but it adds up over time. Right now, we’ve definitely got over a foot on the ground, whereas in January there wasn’t much at all – maybe six inches at most.
Another aspect of nature I begin to notice during the month of February is the wind. Definitely the wind. I can’t recall it being so windy during December and January, but when February hits, the wind hits too. Winds up to 15 miles per hour aren’t noticed much, but when they pick up to 20 or 25 miles per hour, the naked trees begin to whistle and the house begins to shake. It’s unnerving, really.
Overall, while southerners and Europeans feel the onset of spring toward the beginning of February, Mainers feel the brunt of the second coldest month of the year. And sometimes, the snowiest.
