Spring Is Here Thanks To Us Meteorologists; Here's What To Expect

You may think you have to wait until some spring equinox to celebrate the start of spring. We meteorologists make it a whole lot easier for you to enjoy spring. Now let’s see what Mother Nature usually brings us.

Meteorologists celebrate meteorological spring. We don’t listen to those astronomers with their heads up in the stars. Meteorologists start spring on March 1 and let the joy continue for three months. Astronomers might start spring on March 20 or March 21 or March 22. What nonsense. How cumbersome that spring scheme is when trying to compare past springs. First we would have to find out the start date of each past spring season.

Astronomers think spring should start when the center of the sun crosses directly overhead of the equator. Why?

Spring is the time of the greatest change in weather, with fall being equally changeable. Let’s just talk spring for now.

We get much more daylight and stronger sunshine through spring. We gain three hours and 53 minutes of daylight through spring. By the end of spring we have a little over 15 hours of daylight. The sun tops out higher in the sky, going from 40 degrees above the horizon to 69 degrees above the horizon. Let’s put that in perspective. At 40 degrees, the sun is about halfway between the horizon and directly above our head. At 69 degrees, the sun is about two-thirds of the way on the journey to overhead.

More daylight and more direct sun bring warmer temperatures.

Average temperatures change the most in spring compared to the surrounding seasons of winter and summer. In March, April and May, Michigan cities have an average high temperature that warms one degree every three days. By the start of summer June 1, average high temperatures are only increasing one degree every five days, and eventually leveling off in July.

Southern Michigan starts spring with a long-term average high of 38 degrees. The average high by May 31, the last day of spring, is around 75 degrees. To show you the big change of spring, compare this temperature rise to summer, when there is only an additional eight degree temperature rise.

Of course the spring season doesn’t always have the most springy of precipitation. Some of our biggest snowstorms have occurred in the spring season. April 6, 1886 saw Detroit have its biggest snowstorm on record with 24.5 inches of snow. Flint had its second biggest snowstorm on April 3-4, 1975 at 17.3 inches of snow.

I rarely say always in meteorology. There is one thing we always know- the sun will gain power from now until summer, and temperatures will eventually respond.

Celebrate if you are spring-lover.