Vernal Equinox Today -- But where's spring?

Today, March 20th, is the Vernal Equinox. And as we have found out through our Journey North Mystery Class -- this means that all over the globe we should have equal photoperiods -- 12 hours of daylight, 12 hours of night, except at the extremes (North Pole/South Pole). And, checking Greenville's sunrise-sunset times, we actually will have 12:08 of sun -- last Monday, we only had 11:53 of sun, so we did add 15 minutes!

But, in the final analysis, and regardless of all the computations and formulas -- we are NOT having a Spring Day! It's 43 degrees (at noon), overcast and blustery. We're supposed to get sleety rain all day and evening. And this is the coldest it's been in weeks.

So, although the Vernal Equinox is a measure of the start of longer days in the Northern Hemisphere, it is certainly not proof of Spring!

The trees are starting to bloom, azaleas are beginning to bud and the kids are starting to get frustrated with "having to do school" -- now, those are signs of Spring!