Meteorological Spring Begins; Michigan Weather Says, 'that's Cute'

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Meteorological spring begins; Michigan weather says, 'that's cute'

by Meteorologist Will Haenni | Newschannel 3

Fri, March 1, 2019 at 1:35 PM4VIEW ALL PHOTOSMeteorological spring begins March 1, and continues through the end of May. This graphic displays how high temperatures trend over the three-month period. (WWMT/Severe Weather Center 3)Comment on this story0CommentShare storyShare

topics:

• 2014–15 North American Winter
• 2018–19 North American Winter
• Climate Of Chicago
• Climatology
• Lake-effect Snow
• Meteorology
• Physical geography
• Upper Peninsula Of Michigan

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — March 1 marks the start of meteorological spring in the northern hemisphere.

Meteorological spring begins every March 1 and continues through the end of May. It is different from the astronomical start of spring, called the spring or vernal equinox, which will happen this year at 5:58 p.m. EST on March 20, 2019.

Meteorologists and climatologists break the seasons into three-month calendar periods to keep more consistent records and statistics over time.

In West Michigan, the three-month period brings steady warming in terms of average high temperatures, generally averaging about 5 to 7 degrees warmer every 15 days or so.

Meteorological spring begins March 1, and continues through the end of May. This graphic displays how high temperatures trend over the three-month period. (WWMT/Severe Weather Center 3)

Other notable things during the spring that will make warmer-weather fans rejoice:

• Total daylight hours lengthen by three hours and 48 minutes between March 1 and May 31
• Clocks spring forward Sunday, March 10
• The sun sets after 8 p.m. starting March 25

While the calendar says March, the first few weeks of the month were forecast to feel a little more like January. The temperature outlook from the U.S. Climate Prediction Center featured strong signals for below-average cold for a large portion of the country.

This jived with our Severe Weather Center 3 forecast for West Michigan, which features high temperatures in the teens early next week. Monday and Tuesday could flirt with some of the coldest highs on record in Kalamazoo.

As of Friday, high temperatures forecast for Monday, March 4, and Tuesday, March 5, showed highs in the teens. This could flirt with the coldest high temperatures on record for those days in Kalamazoo. (WWMT/Severe Weather Center 3)

To top things off, lake effect snow was predicted for several days early next week, after light weekend accumulations.

Looking back at meteorological winter, it was quite the roller coaster for both temperatures and snowfall. December was one of the least snowy on record, and also averaged about 4 degrees warmer than average.

January turned the tides, with below-average temperatures winning out and 22 inches of snowfall. February wrapped up just below average in terms of temperature, and we saw a little under 13 inches of snow.

Our cold season snowfall total, which includes the significant storm just after Thanksgiving, was 55.7 inches as of March 1. This is slightly behind schedule compared to observed snowfall trends.

West Michigan typically sees about 70 inches of snow during the entirety of the cold season, so the cold early this month and multiple shots at snow could close some of the gap.

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