(SOUTHERN COLORADO) — Temperatures lately have been feeling a lot more like spring as we approach the end of February. The change is always refreshing after a long, cold, and dark winter. However, most Coloradans know that this ‘warm’ feeling is usually short lived.

Astronomical Spring begins on March 20 this year. During this time, the Earth is given an even split of daylight across the globe (hence the name Vernal ‘equinox’). The change in daylight hours is incremental leading up to this point but the effects are quite noticeable over the course of the entire month.

Southern Colorado will be seeing approximately an additional 75 minutes of daylight from the beginning of March through the end of the month. Those additional minutes of daylight will be compounded with Daylight Saving Time beginning on Sunday, March 9 when we all ‘spring’ forward an hour.

Areas further north, such as Montana and Washington, will observe some of the more drastic changes. People living along the U.S. and Canada border will be seeing closer to 100 additional minutes. Further south, areas like Miami and Brownsville will only get an extra 45 minutes of daylight.

Meteorological Spring is defined a bit differently than Astronomical Spring. Instead of using the position of the Earth relative to the sun, meteorologists group the seasons by calendar date. Therefore, Meteorological Spring actually begins Saturday, March 1. The meteorological season will continue through the end of May. Temperatures during this time will, on average, rise from the lower 50s on up into the upper 70s. This is typically the time period that Southern Colorado sees some of the year’s most drastic temperature swings.