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
