First day of spring!

2009-03-20 12:29:18.000 – Stacey Kawecki,  Observer

sublimating rime

Today is the first day of spring. It is going to be a beautiful day on the summit, in the valleys, and pretty much up and down the entire eastern seaboard. It is very fitting. Spring means melting snow, skiing in t-shirts, birds and their songs, longer days, shorter nights, and the overall greening of the valleys, as well as the unavoidable mud season.

Today, winds will be light and variable on the summit, a somewhat unusual occurrence. Temperatures will rise into the lower teens and skies overhead will be cloud free. This is a bit of a difference from last year’s first day of spring. Allow me to refresh your memory.

March 20,2008:

Maximum temperature: 36°F

Minimum temperature: 1°F

Precipitation: .9′ snow/ice and .23′ water

Peak gust: 123 mph

A storm system barreled across the region, only to be blocked by high pressure to the east and intensified by high pressure building from the west. The following day was the windiest of last year, with winds averaging over 100 mph for the day with a peak gust at 145 mph.

Today, and the rest of the week for that matter, will be quite calm by comparison. So far the maximum temperature is 12°F, the minimum is 6°F, we’ve had no precipitation and the peak gust for the day is 26 mph.

It even looks like we’ll be fog free for the remainder of the week! We’re keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that the models aren’t just leading us on.

 

Stacey Kawecki,  Observer