*** Paul Piorek is editor and publisher of Paul's Local Weather Journal for southwestern Connecticut ... Paul is the on-air meteorologist at WICC 600 AM and 107.3 FM ... Paul is a New York Emmy award winner (2007), five-time Emmy nominee, and four-time winner of the Connecticut Associated Press Broadcasters' Association award for Best TV Weathercast (2006, 2008, 2009, 2012) ... Paul was voted Best Local Television Personality by the readers of Fairfield County Weekly Magazine (2012) ... Paul was inducted into the Housatonic Community College Hall of Fame and received the Distinguished Alumni Award (2012) ... The local weather journal is a two-time winner of the Communicator Award of Distinction (2012 & 2013) ... Paul is currently a full-time teacher of Earth Science and Mathematics in Fairfield ... Follow Paul on Twitter @PaulPiorekWICC ...

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Despite Deep Snowpack, Subtle Signs of Spring Appear

The Vernal Equinox, or the start of Spring, is less than five weeks away. Spring officially arrives Wednesday, March 20, at 7:02 a.m. EDT. I'm sure just about everybody is ready for a change of seasons after what we've experienced over the last two weeks. The blizzard was the breaking point for many. However, we'll enjoy a couple of fairly nice days before another storm system arrives Saturday, bringing periods of snow and the potential for two-to-four inches of accumulation by Saturday night.

In case you're wondering, we've received over four feet of snow this Winter. Officially, 51.2" of snow has fallen at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford this season. The seasonal snowfall is just about three times the normal (17.1") and well above the 11.6" total through this date last year. Unfortunately, more snow is on the way early this weekend. Here is a photo taken just after sunrise in Bethel this morning.
                                  


However, there are subtle signs that Winter's grip is beginning to lighten its hold on us, albeit slightly. For one, the days are getting longer. In fact, sunrise happened at 6:49 this morning, a half-hour earlier than the 7:19 sunrise on New Year's Day. Sunset is at 5:26 this evening, exactly one hour later than the 4:26 sunset on the first day of Winter. If you're doing the Math, daily sunlight has increased by an hour-and-a-half over the last eight weeks.

Average daily temperatures are slowly beginning to climb, too. Although today's average daytime high (38) and nighttime low (25) are actually one degree colder than the first day of Winter, the mercury will be on the rebound in a hurry. In two weeks, on the last day of February, the average high and low temperatures are 41 and 26 degrees, respectively. Three weeks later, on the first day of Spring, the average high and low are 49 and 34 degrees, respectively.

Believe it or not, Daylight Saving Time starts three weeks from this Sunday. We Spring ahead Sunday morning, March 10, at 2 o'clock. Although an hour of sleep will be lost, the Sun won't set until close to 7 o'clock (6:54 p.m.) that evening. Pitchers and catchers have already reported to Spring training camps in Florida and Arizona. We're slowly getting there.

The countdown is on!

Paul