Start of Meteorological Spring

By: Michael Schlesinger Facebook | Twitter

Posted: Feb 28, 2015 9:38 PM CDT | Updated: Mar 1, 2015 10:59 AM CDT

Today is the last day in February and the end of meteorological winter. February ended on a cold streak which pushed us into the Top 10 coldest February's on record. The average temperature throughout February 2015 is 14.3º which is cold enough to place February 2015 as the 6th coldest on record. For comparison, last year, February 2014 had an average temperature of 16.4º, two degrees warmer than 2015, and was the 15th coldest on record.

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Tomorrow, March 1st, is the start of meteorological spring! For better record keeping and a more accurate depiction of the season, meteorological spring includes all of March, April and May. This is different from the astronomical season spring which begins on the vernal equinox - March 20th at 5:45 PM (only 20 days away).

Some data put together by Daryl Herzmann of Iowa State shows when the coldest, on average, 91 day period ends (aka when winter ends). According to this data, the coldest 91 days for Milwaukee ends around March 4th.

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The current forecast shows a little of this warming trend. Most days over the next 10 in the 20s or even 30s. Happy Spring!