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Coco Warner Reporting
March is said to come in like a lion, but is there any end to the snow in sight? And what will it mean for spring based businesses? It may not feel like it, but today is the first official day of Spring. With all of this snow, it still feels like winter.
It's a disheartening image for those us anxiously awaiting spring-like weather, colorful flowers and plants weighed down with rain and snow, but the folks at Cactus and Tropicals are hopeful, now that the calendar says it's Spring, maybe mother nature will start to cooperate.
The first official day of spring is otherwise known as the vernal equinox. It hit today at 11:26 a.m.
Patrick Wiggins, NASA Ambassador: "Up here in the northern hemisphere, we'll start getting longer days, which is good for people who like days and shorter nights, which is bad for us astronomers."
And with March going out like a lion, it's difficult to tell that spring has arrived. The playgrounds are covered in snow, as are the golf courses. Of course, all of this winter-like weather means one more day of sledding for some.
Ilse Smith: "Actually, I live in Ephraim now because I go to school there now, and this is the first day of my spring break."
Avid gardeners are getting antsy to enjoy some of their spring flowers. Employees at Cactus and Tropicals say to hold off on your serious planting until the weather improves. Until then, try container gardens, which you can protect from the elements.
Ashleigh Anderson, Cactus and Tropicals: "They're great because they're easy to take care of. You don't have to worry about the frozen soil, you can move them if the temperatures are going to get really cold, or throw a frost cloth over them to cover them up."
Utah's last frost day is typically May 15th, which means until then, gardeners just have to watch and wait.
Ashleigh Anderson: "But I think most people have kind of come to terms with Utah's weather. You never know what you're going to get, especially through the month of March."
Another tradition on the first day of spring? Trying to balance an egg.
Patrick Wiggins, NASA Ambassador: "So it's a great wives' tale, it's a fun thing to do, but there is no connection between the point of the sun or the starts/ends of a season and balancing eggs!"
So maybe there's no relation, but it doesn't lessen the excitement when it happens.
And if you can't wait to get out in your garden, once the sun peaks out, you can still plant spring bulbs for next year and you can work on trimming back your plant beds and trees.
