Spring arrives Saturday

Say good-bye to those few remaining piles of snow. Much of Iowa’s expecting high temperatures in the 60s and 70s today. The warm weather’s right on time as tomorrow’s the first day of spring. Astronomer Bob Bonadurer says the vernal equinox marks the halfway point between the dead of winter and the summer heat. Bonadurer says “The sun’s direction, or apparent direction, is moving into the northern hemisphere meaning it’s going to get higher in the sky for people who live there. So for us, it means that the days are going to get longer for the next three months.” He says the sun will be directly over the earth’s equator, meaning everyone onthe planet will have 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night and this marks the vernal, or spring equinox. The longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice, has 15 and a half hours of daylight.