White Easter: Germany Faces Coldest March Since 1883

[xchrom]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/cold-german-winter-refuses-to-warm-up-for-easter-a-891468.html


The poor Easter Bunny deserves our sympathy. Whereas in recent years he has grown used to dodging daffodils, lilies and tulips as he carries his cargo of eggs and chocolate to homes across northern Europe, this year the rabbit will find himself confronted with ice slicks, snow drifts and bundled up humans in foul moods.

Easter, after all, may be upon us. But spring weather most definitely is not. Biologists are warning that the Easter Bunny's wild brethren, European hares, are having trouble keeping their broods warm and healthy in the unseasonable chill. Meteorologists are keeping close tabs on thermometers to determine whether this March will go down as the coldest ever -- since records began in the 1880s. And wiseacres on the streets of Berlin have not yet tired of noting that Easter promises to be colder than last Christmas.

And it's not just the northern regions of Continental Europe where the Easter Bunny will encounter problems. Great Britain and Ireland are likewise suffering through unseasonable weather, with power outages threatening the roast lamb and snow drifts making hopping difficult. Russia and Ukraine are also suffering.

In northern Germany, the weather has been particularly notable for its persistent putrescence. Following a winter that broke all records for its lack of sunshine -- with just 91.2 hours of sunshine, total, from the beginning of December to the end of February -- the sun has in recent days emerged from behind the haze.

Snowmen are fine. Snow Easter Bunnies, though, are a sign of a spring gone terribly wrong. These not-entirely-lifelike sculptures were photographed in the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania this week.

[Demeter]

1. Last night I was practically stepping on bunnies while throwing the papers

I'd like to say the bunnies were practicing for Easter, but more likely they were making more bunnies.