Spring’s Early Arrival in the US
March is a month with many changes in weather across the United States. Some days are very warm, breaking records, while others bring storms or blizzards. Meteorologists say this change is part of spring, which starts on March 1.
Spring officially begins with the vernal equinox around March 20 in the Northern Hemisphere. But meteorologists use March 1 as the start of spring because it’s easier to track with the calendar and temperature patterns.
In 2024, the vernal equinox is on Tuesday, March 19, the earliest it’s been in March since 1896. Leap years and the way Earth moves around the sun affect when seasons start.
Meteorological seasons were created to make it easier for experts to compare weather statistics. Traditional seasons varied in length, but meteorological spring always includes March, April, and May. The other seasons also cover three months each: winter is December, January, February; summer is June, July, August; and fall is September, October, November.
March has many old sayings about its weather, like “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” People have tried to predict the weather with these sayings for years.
There’s also a legend about balancing eggs on the first day of spring because of a change in gravity. But it’s just a myth; you can balance eggs any day of the year.
Changes in how land is used, like farming and building, have made it harder for some animals to survive. One butterfly, the wall brown, used to be common in the UK but now is found in only a few places. Conservationists are trying to protect them.
Some butterflies, like the wall brown, are having trouble because of mild weather in the fall and winter. They come out of their cocoons too early, when it’s still too cold to mate or find food. This means fewer butterflies survive to the next spring, which is making their numbers go down.
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