First Day of Spring?

Spring officially began today, Wednesday March 20, 2013 at 5:02 a.m. MDT.  According to the calendar it's Spring, but our weather the next few days will be more like mid-winter!

Large storm system over the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies bringing snow  then cold temps thru the weekend. No sign of warming back up until Tuesday of next week. So, fresh snow and cold temps to celebrate the Equinox in Jackson Hole!

(You can read more about it on the Jackson Hole Forecast page in my discussion).

Forecast Map for Wednesday, March 20.

More about the Spring Equinox

 

Also known as Vernal Equinox, "Vernal" the Latin word for Spring, and "Equinox" meaning equal day and night. The Equinox it is defined as the exact moment that the sun is positioned directly overhead at the Equator. The sun also rises due east and sets due west on the Equinox, which happens twice a year -- in March and again in September.

During the days surrounding the Equinox, all locations across the globe, from the equator to the poles, will experience an equal amount of daylight and darkness, about 12 hours of each.

At this latitude in Jackson Hole the sun is now noticeably higher in the sky, 47 degrees above the horizon at noontime, versus 23 degrees above the horizon in December. And, our days are about 3 hours longer than they were back in December.

Post by Jim Woodmencey, meteorologist.

Graphics from NOAA & timeanddate.com