PHOTOS: BJ Breaks 47-Year-Old Dry Spell With Spring Snowfall
Beijing's longest dry spell on record finally came to an end on Saturday with a city-wide dusting of snow – just in time for spring.
An average 3 millimeters of precipitation fell on Beijing during the St. Patrick's Day snowfall that saw Dougezhuang (located to the east of Sanlitun) receive the capital's highest accumulation of 7.1 millimeters.
After 145 days without significant precipitation, Saturday's snowfall marked the end of Beijing's longest dry spell in 47 years, according to the municipal meteorological observatory. The new record tops the previous dry spell record of 114 days set back in 1971.
Even though the last significant precipitation took place on Oct 23 last year, Beijing has been fortunate enough not to have to resort to water conservation procedures, as had happened back in 2011 during another long dry spell. After 2014, the South-North Water Transfer Project began to supply Beijing with 70 percent of its water during certain months.
Beijing has experienced sporadic flurries this winter (such as last week and back in January), but none of the precipitation this season had managed to exceed the 1 millimeter required to be classified as "significant."
READ: Snowflakes Finally Bring an End to Beijing Winter Drought
Even with the temperature dropping, Beijing residents enthusiastically greeted the snow. Eleven city parks recorded a 30 percent increase in attendance on Saturday, while residents filled social media with photographs of writing, "It's snowing" on parked automobiles, as is the tradition in China.
"Snow in March"
"Spring snow"
Unfortunately, Saturday's snowfall didn't bring luck and prosperity to everyone, as lawmakers suggested at the wrap-up to the Two Sessions parliamentary meeting. One city resident needed firefighters to carry him away by stretcher after he twisted his ankle climbing western scenic area Fragrant Hills, while seven city bus stops were shut down due to icy road conditions.
READ: Beijing Just Witnessed its Driest Year on Record
Although the lack of snow this past winter has been uncommon for Beijing, a late snowfall in March is not out of the ordinary. Between 1971-2000, the average day for final snowfall in Beijing as recorded by the city's southern weather observatory is Mar 17, a date that moves up slightly by five days when considering the Beijing winters between 1981-2010.
But as beautiful as Saturday's snowfall was, it become a distant memory once Beijing's notoriously short spring season gets off to a fast start with very mild temperatures next week.
With Sunday's high temperature reaching around 13 degrees Celsius, the week will begin with daytime high temperatures hovering in the low double digits. Then, by week's end, Beijing's weather forecast calls for a Thursday high temperature of 18 degrees Celsius while Friday is expected to hit a high of 20 degrees Celsius, a far cry from the snowy climes of the week before.
From snowfall one week to short-sleeved fashions the next ... at the very least, the weather in Beijing is going to provide some elegant backgrounds in selfie photos this season.
Images: BJ News (163.com), Weibo.com
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