Well, That Was Sudden

We went from freezing at night, to suddenly not having any more freezing weather in the forecast.

It's strange. Usually the weather changes seasons slowly. The daily weather can change quickly, but the general trend is usually not this abrupt. Each cold snap is a little less cold than the one before in the normal pattern, each warm up a little warmer, until finally it's obvious spring has sprung.

Not this year. A week ago we were concerned about the pipes bursting from a hard freeze. Now we are close to needing air conditioning some afternoons. The forecast is for temps to stay moderate for the foreseeable future, and since we generally don't have freezing weather in March, i'd say winter is over here.

Truly i didn't expect it this soon, or so abruptly. No, i won't complain.

For those of you with snow still on your doorstep, take heart of grace, spring is real, and it is coming your way. May it been soon.


Today is:

Curling Is Cool Day

Defender of the Fatherland Day (formerly Red Army Day) -- Russia and some former Soviet Republics

International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day

Iwo Jima Day (flag raising)

National Banana Bread Day

National Day -- Brunei

Republic Day (Mashramani) -- Guyana

St Milburga of Shropshire's Day

St. Polycarp's Day

Terminalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival for Terminus, god of land boundary markers)



Birthdays Today:

Michael Dell, 1965
Howard Jones, 1955
Patricia Richardson, 1951
John Sanford, 1944
Johnny Winter, 1944
Peter Fonda, 1939
Donna J. Stone, 1933
Paul Tibbets, 1915
Victor Fleming, 1889
W.E.B. DuBois, 1868
George Frederic Handel, 1685
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, 1646
Samuel Pepys, 1633


Today in History:

Emperor Diocletian orders the general persecution of Christians, 303
Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type, 1455
France begins its fifth "holy war" against the Huguenots, 1574
Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army, 1778
The first US raw-cotton-to-cloth mill is founded, in Waltham, Massachusetts, 1813
The first US pharmaceutical college is organized, the College of Apothecaries in Philadelphia, 1821
Santa Anna begins his siege of the Alamo, 1836
John Newman leaves the Anglican Church and is welcomed into the Roman Catholic Church, 1846
In Mexico, American troops under General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna, 1847
Great Britain formally recognises the independence of the Boers in the area between the Orange and Vaal rivers, signing the Bloemfontein Convention with the Orange Free State, 1854
The London Times publishes the world's first classified ad, 1886
Charles Martin Hall, assisted by his sister Julia Brainerd Hall, produced the first samples of man-made aluminum, 1886
The French/Italian Riviera is struck by an earthquake that leaves 2,000 dead, 1887
The Tootsie Roll is introduced by Leo Hirshfield, 1896
In France, Emile Zola is imprisoned for writing his "J'accuse" letter accusing the government of anti-Semitism and wrongly jailing Alfred Dreyfus, 1898
The Cuban state of Guantanamo is leased to the US, 1903
The US acquires control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million, 1904
The Rotary Club International is founded in Chicago, 1905
Russian Tsar Nicholas II dissolves the Diet of Finland, 1909
The US state of Nevada enacts a convenient divorce law, 1915
The February Revolution begins in Russia, 1917
Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, 1941
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded, 1847
The first mass inoculation with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh, 1954
First meeting of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), 1955
The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri, 1983
Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud, 1987
A small fire occurs in the Russian Space station, Mir, 1997
An avalanche destroys the Austrian village of Galtür, killing 31, 1999
Unknown criminals pour more than 2.5 million liters of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in Northern Italy, causing an environmental disaster, 2010