March 1st-the First day of Spring!

Re: March 1st----the First day of Spring!

My Armenian friend who moved to Moscow and then here says that in Russia it is. Though he may have misinterpreted the meaning. Then again, I may have misinterpreted his meaning. I will double check with Vlad and his wife in the morning.

Yes vochinch chigitem.
Ya niechevo nie znaio.

hmmm.... Yes, the languages seem a bit different. There may have been a language barrier kind of thing going on.

 

Re: March 1st----the First day of Spring!

Has he seemed kind of angry as of late?

Just wondering. . .

 

Re: March 1st----the First day of Spring!

Technically the spring starts on http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/EarthSeasons.php [Broken] when the Sun crosses directly over the Earth's equator (Vernal equinox).

However meteorologists are stubbornly using still the Societas Meteorologica Palatina, which decided (in 1780) to consider each seasons to be starting on the first day of the month. Hence the first of March.

My roses agreed with that. I had to prune them yesterday

 

Re: March 1st----the First day of Spring!

The American way of counting seasons is mismatched with nature.

From the astronomical point of view, it's most logical to place the beginning of spring halfway between Yule and the Vernal Equinox, and to place the end of spring halfway between the Vernal Equinox and Midsummer. That would place the first day of spring somewhere around February 7th.

However, Earth's climate is slightly shifted with respect to astronomical seasons. The Russian way (and the Societas Meteorologica Palatina way) is to place the beginning of spring on March 1st, which is less correct astronomically, but more correct meteorologically.

 

Re: March 1st----the First day of Spring!

But the groundhog said...well, implied, that winter would go on until March 15?

Whom to believe?

 

Re: March 1st----the First day of Spring!

OK, I just walked the dog again, and by 10am the temperature was 40 degrees and climbing in a bright sunny day. I'm not claiming Spring just yet, though, because some of our biggest storms traditionally come in March. Two years ago in March, if you looked over at our house from the road you could see the eaves, roof and chimney.

 

Re: March 1st----the First day of Spring!

Last march, we had 2 feet of snow in 2 days, then 4 inches of rain over 2 days, and then another foot of snow.

What a wonderful month to have a birthday in! hahaha

 

Re: March 1st----the First day of Spring!

We have been unseasonably warm for over a month now, and heavy rains have practically halted all wood-harvesting. Trucking logs is now forbidden on all but the most heavily-built roads because the road-beds are soft and prone to frost-heaves and buckling. Still the Western mountains have been getting snow instead of rain. Here is a shot of the Sugarloaf ski resort taken from the hill that I live on. While we were getting drenched last week, they picked up about 70" of new snow. Wardens and other rescue personnel had to search the mountain Monday to find a group of snowboarders that stupidly left the marked trails in white-out conditions to 'board the fresh powder. They spent the night outside, but thanks to the mild temperatures, suffered only a bit of hypothermia.

 

Re: March 1st----the First day of Spring!

He was when I relayed the fact that he might have been confused.

He was not confused. The entire USSR recognized March 1st as the first day of Spring.

And he said he does not know who this "Vlad the Impaler" is/was.

 

Re: March 1st----the First day of Spring!

Oh, you see the last person I heard of named Vlad was a pretty impaling guy if you know what I mean.

 

Re: March 1st----the First day of Spring!

Vlad's wife confirmed the March 1 day of Spring in Russia. She's a native of Moscow.

She said she would check with her fellow Europeans at work to find out who observes what where and when.