How Long Until Spring?

Today was an ugly day. Just chilly enough. Just gray enough. Just drippy enough.

Over the years people have confessed to me their love for nearly every type of weather. No one’s ever mentioned this type!

So, where do we stand?

Obviously we’re still in winter, but not the depths. We’re 64 days removed from the winter solstice. Sun-wise we’re where we were in mid-October. Things should begin turning around.

We add three minutes of additional daylight tomorrow. There will be 20 minutes more daylight by this time next week. In a month, days will be 1:25 longer.

February in Connecticut averages 2.5 kilowatt hours of solar energy per square meter per day (kWh/m²/day). That number is 3.43 kWh/m²/day in March and 4.29 kWh/m²/day in April! It’s written as kilowatt hours–you can just think heat.

Earth’s atmosphere is sluggish when it comes to heating and cooling. Solar lag keeps us cold long after the year’s shortest day. But there’s no mistaking the direction we’re moving. The Sun’s influence is too strong… too dependable.

As far as I’m concerned we can’t move fast enough.

11 thoughts on “How Long Until Spring?”

  1. AS ALWAYS YOU ARE A FOUNTAIN OF KNOWLEDGE, I CANT WAIT TO START MY GARDEN. I WANT TO GROW AS MANY VEGETABLES AND BERRIES AS I CAN. I HAVE WORMS COMPOSTING KITCHEN SCRAPS IN MY BASEMENT. I WISH I COULD GROW CHICKENS IN MY BACK YARD, BUT I THINK THAT WOULD VIOLATE A PROHIBITION AGAINST ANIMALS IN RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES. I GET MANURE FROM BROOKSVALE PARK AND PLANTS AND SEEDS FROM VAN WILLIGANS.

  2. Usually during this time of year *when* the sun is out, I can find a warm spot in the corner of my deck, close my eyes and pretend its not February! There have been days this week while walking my dog that I hear birds chirping and I think spring’s coming!

  3. Greg Brown, one of my favorite singer-songwriters, has a line about this kind of weather: “It look like February 19th and November 8th, They had an ugly little baby and they’re gonna call it Today.”

  4. Yeah this is a lousey weekend. But I’m looking forward to NOT spending so much money on electricity (we have electric heat) and being able to open the windows again.
    Think the cats would agree with me on the windows part.

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