The official beginning of spring begins this evening at 8:06 p.m. and is the astronomical start of the spring season. The forecast was for another day at 70 degrees or better which would make it five days in a row, which is quite a milestone for the month of March. The warmest day was 76 degrees on Saturday.
On the first full day of spring Wednesday, we retrograde back to a winterlike pattern with clouds, showers and snow at the Cascade passes. The first weather system Wednesday will only bring light rain, but the high temperature will drop back into the 50s. The average high now is 58 degrees. I don’t expect monsoon-type rains but typical late March moisture. That will set the stage for those upcoming April showers which are right around the corner.
These 70-degree days have almost erased our below normal average mean temperature for the month, so that is good news. In the rainfall department we are now about 1 inch below normal so far this month. Additional rain will surely help but I’m not sure if we will receive enough next week to place us above average for the month. We’ll wait and see.
Meanwhile with the sunny skies Monday I had my first experience behind the lawn mower, which I wasn’t looking forward to. It was warm and comfortable wearing shorts for the first time this year. There was a robin perched on the fence watching me and I’m sure he was mocking me in a good way.
