SPRING ARRIVES; WARMER WEATHER EXPECTED TODAY

After a false start earlier this month, spring (according to the calendar) made its arrival in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois this morning.

The first day of spring should be somewhat more spring-like than the past several days, with highs expected to reach in the mid 60s, the National Weather Service said.

That will be a considerable improvement over the drab, chilly last day of winter on Thursday. Thursday's high was only in the upper 30s with an occasional flake of snow mixed with light rain.

Meanwhile, the 30-day mid-March-to-mid-April, extended outlook indicates near seasonable temperatures with near to slightly-above normal precipitation.

The vernal equinox the time when the sun crosses the Earth's equator into the Northern Hemisphere occurred at 2:48 a.m. It also marked the first day of fall in the Southern Hemisphere. Today, the sun rises in the due east and sets due west everywhere on Earth except near the North and South Poles. The amount of daylight and darkness today will be nearly equal, with 12 hours and 8 minutes of sunlight.

Earlier this month, it seemed as if spring and early summer had arrived at the same time. On seven consecutive days (March 2-8) the daily high was at 70 degrees or above. Fruit trees, flowers, shrubs and bushes were in full bloom. The average temperature for the first nine days of the month was running 17 degrees above the seasonal average.

But an outbreak of frigid, arctic air pouring in behind a storm system changed all of that, as the temperature plunged to 22 degrees on March 11. The cold caused some damage to peach trees in the area, but growers said if there are no more severe freezes between now and mid-April, there will be a good peach crop later this summer. The cold also killed the early spring growth that had budded in the unusually mild temperatures.

Despite the return of more seasonable but cooler weather, Al Robertson, professor of earth science and climatologist at Southeast Missouri State University, says the average monthly temperature for the first 18 days of the month, 51.4 degrees, is still nearly seven (6.9) degrees above the long-term average of 44.5 degrees.

The forecast for the weekend calls for a chance of rain Saturday with highs in the mid-60s. Sunday will be partly cloudy with a slight chance of rain and highs in the mid to upper 50s. Monday's highs will be in the mid to upper 50s with partly cloudy skies.