The seasons of weather lag several weeks behind the seasons of the sun due to the delay caused by the energy balance of the atmosphere system. In our region of the world, this lag is greatest in spring due to the reflective properties of snow cover.
Even as the sun's rays start becoming more direct in March, much of that potential warming is reflected back into space by highly reflective snow. When winter snow cover is minimal, however, this lag is reduced or negated, which explains why all of the March record high temperatures in our area occurred in springs in which the winter snow cover melted away early.
Of course, weather is naturally variable, and it is possible for a storm to bring snow even after the winter snow has melted away, which is why early springs are often false springs.
