Whoa! False spring to be followed by real spring today

Oooh, the term 'false spring' is enough to send a shiver up your spine.

False spring is what we're having right now -- a glorious stretch of sunny and record-breaking warm weather -- that comes crashing to a halt Wednesday night as cooler, seasonal temperatures prevail and the chance of showers or even flurries (yikes!) is amped up.

"Yes, March is a transitional month," points out Lisa Erven, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

"You can get any type of weather. This March is a great example because we'll go from record-breaking warm this past weekend (we're talking 18.9C in Kelowna, 19.3C in Vernon, 20.2C in Prince George, 17.5C in Summerland and 22.2C in Osoyoos) to possible flurries on Saturday night."

False spring is more of a horticultural term referring to late winter-early spring weather that's substantially warmer than usual that deceives vegetation to sprout and animals to awaken, only to be followed by cooler, more seasonal conditions.

It's ironic that the spring-like weather is happening in BC before it's technically spring and then when it actually becomes spring, conditions take a turn for the worst.

Astronomical spring in BC starts at 8:06 pm tonight, the moment of the vernal equinox when the sun crosses the equator moving south to north.

It supposedly means exactly 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark, but because the sun is crossing the celestial equator, which is in the sky above the Earth's actual equator, more sunlight is refracted in the atmosphere giving us a little extra light.

For instance, in Kelowna, sunrise today was at 6:59 am and sunset will be 7:11 pm, working out to a glorious 12 hours and 12 minutes of daylight.

We'll get a little more light every day for the next three months, peaking on the summer solstice of June 20.

Now, this is when you may ask, why is spring so early -- March 19?

Isn't it supposed to be March 21?

Well, March 21 spring is old news.

Spring actually gets a little earlier based on the 400-year cycle of the Gregorian calendar, meaning the season usually falls on March 20.

But, this year's March 19 start is about as early as it can get.

To confuse the issue, this is all based on astronomical spring -- the seasonal change based on the science of celestial objects (like the sun and the moon) and space.

Meteorological spring was March 1, the start of the season that falls exactly in line with the three calendar months of March, April and May, which makes it easier for weather professionals to keep statistics and compare month to month.

So, spring is either here or about to be here and it's reason to rejoice.

Spring means warmer weather (for the most part, compared to winter, anyway), rebirth, Easter (which this year falls on March 31), patio openings and everyone generally being in an all-round better mood.

_{Thumbnail photos by Aaron Burden and Jessica Faden on Unsplash}