Weather forecasts, eclipses, supermoons and key dates
Many of the major climate sites across the region have already hit 70 degrees this year. For all, this occurred during an unusually mild March 11 — a sign of things to come as we eagerly awaited the first day of spring.
At 5:37 a.m. Saturday, the spring equinox occured when the sun passed the equator, moving from the southern to the northern hemisphere. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the northern hemisphere is once again tilted more toward the sun, resulting in increasing daylight hours and warming temperatures.
For the Lehigh Valley, we bid adieu to one of the snowier winters on record. Here’s what to know as we begin the change to the spring season:
Officially closing the door on winter
While snow showers were in the forecast for Friday morning, we’re finally shutting the door on a winter season that gave us snow in heaps and will wrap up blustery and cold.
The Lehigh Valley had 58.1 inches of snow this winter, or 27.6 inches above normal and 52.8 inches more than the 20192020 winter season.
Most of the snow came in February, our second-snowiest February of all time, with 39.6 inches.
The days are getting longer
At the time of the equinox, the length of day and night becomes nearly equal in all parts of the world. We then begin to enjoy increasing hours of sunlight and later sunsets.
On March 20, the sun rises at 7:04 a.m. and sets at 7:14 p.m.
By the end of the month, the sunset takes place at 7:25 p.m.
The amount of daylight will continue to increase each day until the summer solstice on Sunday, June 20, when the longest period of daylight occurs. On that date, the sun rises at 5:31 a.m. and sets at 8:36 p.m., giving us 15 hours, 4 minutes, and 54 seconds of daylight.
A warmer spring is expected
Spring may trend slightly warmer than average across the Lehigh Valley, according to an
outlook from Empire Weather.
The forecast also features a wetter than normal pattern across a large portion of the Southeast, from the Mississippi River Valley into the Tennessee Valley, Ohio Valley, and parts of the mid-Atlantic. But the Lehigh Valley is expected to see near-neutral or average conditions.
The Climate Prediction Center updated its three-month outlook on Wednesday, showing a probability of above-average temperatures across the region. The CPC also expects a chance of wetterthan-normal conditions.
The first half of March was exceptionally dry in the area, with Allentown seeing the driest 15-day period on record. From March 1 through 15, the area recorded just 0.08 inches of precipitation. That’s just 5% of normal (1.52 inches) and was the driest of all 35 major climate sites, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center.
Mark your calendar for these dates
The spring season brings a number of reasons to celebrate, especially this year, as thousands of people line up for a coronavirus vaccine in order to hold events safely.
As of Wednesday, more than 3.8 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the state, and an estimated 2.5 million state residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam.
Here are just a few dates to remember as we begin to safely gather:
March 27: Passover begins March 28: Palm Sunday
April 4: Easter Sunday
April 12: Ramadan begins April 22: Earth Day
May 9: Mother’s Day
There will be two eclipses and two supermoons
There will be two eclipses coming up for skywatchers this spring.
On May 26, there will be a total eclipse of the moon only partially visible from North America. The best views (unfortunately for us) will be from western North America and Hawaii.
On June 10, the annular eclipse of the sun takes place. The eclipse will be visible only from northern and northeastern North America beginning at 4:12 a.m. EDT and ending at 9:11 a.m. EDT. The time of the maximum eclipse will vary by location, according to NASA. At maximum eclipse (expected at 10:43:06), an annulus (or ring) around the sun will be visible. (You must be somewhere within the central path on NASA’s map (between the blue lines) to see the annular phase of the eclipse).
As for supermoons, the Full Pink Moon will occur on April 26 at 11:33 p.m. and the Full Flower Moon will occur on May 26 at 7:14 a.m.
NASA says the term “supermoon” was coined by the astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 and refers to either a new or full moon that occurs within 90% of perigee, its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit. (Generally speaking, a supermoon is a full moon that appears larger than a typical full moon due to it being closer to Earth).
These two supermoons of the spring are the only supermoons of 2021. In 2020, four full moons from February through May met this 90% threshold.