Spring officially starts Thursday at 5:01 a.m.! Spring will last for 92 days until summer starts on June 20 at 10:42 p.m. Thursday will have 12 hours and 9 minutes of daylight.
RELATED: Why is there not equal day and night on the equinox?
WHY DO WE HAVE SEASONS?
We have seasons because the Earth's axis is tilted.
Earth’s axis is always pointed in the same direction, so different parts of the planet will get the sun’s direct rays throughout the year.
For example, in summer, the sun's rays hit that region more directly than at any other time.
And, believe it or not, Earth is farthest from the sun in July and we are the closest during January.
It may seem backward to those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, but this shows that the tilted axis of the Earth, not its distance from the sun, is the cause of the seasons.
On the equinox, the axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun.
WINTER HANGS ON
Despite spring starting in less than 24 hours, it will feel more like winter on the first day of spring.
We will see rain and storms return Wednesday night and continue into Thursday. The high temperature will be in the 50s and happen early on Thursday.
The temperatures will fall into the low 40s by early afternoon, and rain will change to snow by Thursday evening as it gets even colder.
It will also be windy. Gusts could be over 35 mph, making it feel colder. Slick spots are possible Thursday night and early Friday.
March is a transitional month, and spring is a transitional season. Whiplash weather is common at this time of year.
So far, March has been running above average! All of the boxes in the graphic below that are yellow show days with above-average temperatures.
Eleven out of 18 days, or 61% of the month, have been warmer than normal...so far.
PATTERN FLIP
This pattern flip of cooler than normal temps also looks to linger for days...if not weeks.
For perspective, the high temperature for the end of March is typically in the upper 40s to low 50s.
The average temperature on March 20 for Cleveland is 48 degrees and rises to 53 degrees by March 31.
Therefore, anything below 48 degrees over the next several days is considered below average.
The data suggests colder-than-normal temperatures are possible through the end of the month.
The two images below are from The Climate Prediction Center and are the 6-10-day outlook and the 8-14-day outlook.
They both show there that there will be more days that are colder than the average into early April.
Keep in mind that this does not mean that there will be zero warmer days, but the bulk average leans colder rather than warmer into early April.
In fact, it does look like it could get briefly warmer for a couple of days in early April, but then colder-than-average temperatures quickly return after that.
Note the image below that shows a large area in blue over our region, suggesting below-average temperatures will still be possible into late April.
Of course, these are just trends and are subject to change - but it is worth keeping a pulse on!
The Power of 5 Weather Team will be keeping you posted on the daily forecast multiple times a day. You can catch us morning, noon and night!
