The astronomical spring began Friday, March 20, at 7:46 a.m. Pacific Time. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, we have the four seasons because the earth is tilted on its axis by approximately 23.5 degrees. As we move into April and May, the daylight hours become noticeably longer and during the summer, our planet is tilted toward the Sun resulting in longer daylight hours and a higher sun angle.
During the equinoxes, the first day of spring and the first day of fall, our planet is positioned on the orbital plane where it is not tilted toward or away from the sun. The equinox means that the Earth will experience 12 hours of day and night. However, the reason the times are not exactly 12 hours apart on the first day of spring and fall are complex. Our location in a particular time zone, elevation, and the fact that the sun is not a singular point in space are some of the explanations.
Despite the new spring season, it is already feeling like summer across regions in the central and southern U.S., especially in the southwestern portion of the country. Record-shattering high temperatures were felt in the Southwest as readings were as much as 15 to 30 degrees above average.
The deserts of California and Arizona soared to above the 100-degree mark last week. Palm Springs had a record high of 106 degrees with a blistering temperature of 105 degrees in Phoenix on Thursday, March 19, and Friday, March 20, the earliest such temperature by more than a month. Phoenix first topped the century mark Wednesday, March 18, with a high of 102 degrees during the astronomical winter. More heat in Phoenix is expected this week as highs are likely to challenge the 100-degree mark.
According to the National Weather Service, a small town located nearly 150 miles west of Phoenix that is on the border of Arizona and California of 110 degrees last Thursday. That reading was the highest March temperature ever recorded in the U.S. The old record was 108 degrees in Rio Grande City, Texas, in 1954. AccuWeather reported that last week also had high temperatures in the upper 80s in Sacramento. San Francisco went to 85 degrees with a blistering 99-degree high at Long Beach, Calif.
In Idaho, high temperatures climbed into the mid to upper 70s across the southern part of the state. Coeur d’Alene’s warmest readings last week with 65 degrees March 19. It wasn’t a record, but within 5 degrees. A high of 70 degrees was reported March 19, 2024, just two years ago.
As with the case with wide weather extremes, when there’s heat on one side, there is often cold weather on the other. Earlier in March, the Midwest endured some intense, late-season winter weather with some areas seeing over two feet of snow. The Pacific Northwest picked up widespread snowfalls as Oregon’s Timberline picked up a whopping 4 feet of new snow in just 72 hours.
March is the month that is notorious for wild temperature swings. With the cold air to the north and warmer air building to the south, we often see massive collisions between the two air masses that lead to the big swings in air temperature, plus the big storms that will develop. However, the big heat dome that developed in the southwestern U.S. at this time of year has been labeled as “historic” by climate scientists.
In Hawaii, heavy rainfall this month has led to severe flooding across Oahu, especially near Honolulu. Residents north of Honolulu have watched their homes pushed off their foundations and flooded streets have swallowed vehicles. As of the weekend, there was an evacuation order for towns in this region for the possible catastrophic failure of a 120-year-old dam.
In terms of our local weather, we do see more storms moving across the Inland Northwest into April. There is still the possibility of some measurable snowfall in the lower elevations with the best chance in early April.
Despite the recent moisture, there is still moderate to severe drought conditions across the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene regions according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its spring forecast last week and shows the continuation of drought conditions across much of the western half of the country, including eastern Washington and western Idaho. California currently has “no drought” conditions, but drought development is forecast across the northern portion of the state.
NOAA’s spring outlook also states that “drought conditions are forecast to worsen or develop for many areas in the West and south-central Plains.” The low snowpacks in the West and soil moisture contents are factors that are influencing the outlook. In fact, NOAA is also predicting that we’ll have a transition from the cooler La Nina sea-surface temperature to the “La Nada,” or in-between La Nina and the warmer El Nino.
• • •
Contact Randy Mann at [email protected].