Spring's Thursday night arrival will be the earliest for the Northern Hemisphere in more than 100 years. So why not have some snow and temperatures far below freezing to kick off the season?
The vernal equinox — that ta-da! moment of spring — occurs at 10:49 p.m. Central Daylight Time. That makes the season's arrival in 2020 the earliest for the top half of the globe in 124 years.
But alas, winter's grip is showing no signs of loosening in the Twin Cities metro area, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Thursday appears to be a lock for a rainy affair, with an afternoon high of 44 degrees, the NWS is forecasting.
The dreary gives way to nasty late in the afternoon and into the evening, the weather service says. The rain turns to snow, the overnight temp freefalls to 18, and winds touching 25 miles per hour are sure to revive windchill reports.
By the time the snow ends, there should be close to an inch of total accumulation, but some spots in the region could have up to 2 inches on the ground, the weather service is forecasting.
From there, sunny skies prevail Friday but a high of 29 is the best that can be hoped for, according to the NWS. Then the nighttime low bottoms out at 16.
And about that previously mentioned exceptionally early start to spring 124 years ago? The vernal equinox arrived in the central time zone on March 19, 1896, at 8:29 p.m.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
