The day after calendars turned over to March, high school spring sports practices were scheduled to begin on March 2 in preparation for the upcoming season.

But like a number of years in the past, snowfall as the end of winter hits has put a damper on those practice plans in early March.

Two separate storms last week, including Thursday's winter blast that saw much of the Lehigh Valley receive over six inches of snow, covered playing surfaces across the region. That put to rest any idea of baseball, lacrosse, tennis or track and field teams from practicing outside.

In fact, with schools closed for a number of days due to the bad weather, teams were prohibited from practicing at all indoors or out.

"We only have baseball, softball, and track and field here in the spring," said Jason Zimmerman, Northwestern Lehigh Director of Athletics and Student Activities. "They have maximized our gym space, however, when they could get out in a parking lot to conduct some practices, they have. Last week, our kids got to practice Monday and were off Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday because of the weather."

With this week's forecast predicted in the mid 40s and low 50s, schools figure to be operating back on a normal schedule once again, which means a full week of practice for most teams.

Zimmerman is hoping the warmer temperatures makes a dent in the amount of snowfall that lies on Northwesetern's baseball and softball fields

"Warmer temperatures during the day and night with plenty of sunshine will be our best friend in the weeks to come," Zimmerman said. "A little rain wouldn't be the worst thing this week.

"In my 15 years, last season was the absolute worst. Talk to me at the end of the week, and I will let you know if this season has taken over top honors."

Northwestern doesn't have boys volleyball, boys tennis or lacrosse in the spring unlike a number of other schools. That makes scheduling just three sports much easier than some of its counterparts.

On the other hand, Northwestern has just one gym at the high school. That means that baseball and softball players will be relegated inside or in parking lots, and pitcher won't throw from the mound in at least a few days. The same goes for track and field competitors, who won't see a clear track for quite some time.

"I would say we had about the same amount of snow on the ground last year at this time, and we ended up playing the first official play date," Zimmerman said. "That being said, the amount of ice packed underneath the layer of snow could slow this process up."

The bottom line when it comes to weather and nature, Zimmerman admits, is to remain patient in the next couple of weeks.

"Folks just have to be patient," he said. "There are a variety of tricks that some schools use to help speed up the process, but Mother Nature will work at her own pace. We let her take her course last year instead of plowing off the fields, and we were on our field no later than other schools were.

"We all have to put things in perspective and understand it could be worse. We could be athletic directors in Boston."

The Colonial League season begins this Friday with a number of tennis teams taking the courts. That's if the courts are in playable conditions. The baseball and softball teams are set to open their season on Monday, March 23.