National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Snow Squalls May Impact New Year's Eve Travel from the Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic; Heavy Rain & Isolated Severe Thunderstorms in Southern California

Snow squalls are likely to cross the Lower Great Lakes this evening and the Ohio Valley through the interior Northeast/northern Mid-Atlantic overnight, before potentially reaching the I-95 corridor from D.C. to New York City early New Year’s Day morning. Heavy rain and isolated severe thunderstorms will impact coastal southern California including Los Angeles tonight into early on New Year's Day. Read More >

The Vernal Equinox occurred early yesterday morning (Monday, March 20, 2017) at 5:28 AM CDT. This was the start of the astronomical spring in the Northern Hemisphere, as the sun's rays were directly overhead on the equator. Interesting tidbit: the word "equinox" is derived from two Latin words - aequus (meaning "equal") and nox (meaning "night").

On the two equinoxes (fall and spring), the length of day and night are nearly equal. The nearly equal hours of day and night are due to refraction of sunlight or a bending of the light's rays that causes the sun to appear above the horizon when the actual position of the sun is below the horizon. The days will continue to slowly get longer over the next couple of months, as the direct rays of the sun move slowly northward.


Schultz

NWS Duluth, MN