Spring Comes Early This Year

After a week of solid rain, spring is due to arrive in Hercules at exactly 10:14 p.m. Monday, fittingly following a day of scattered sunshine.

The vernal equinox marks the changing of the seasons as the Sun crosses directly over Earth's equator, and usually occurs on March 20 or 21. This year, however, spring has sprung early — earlier than it has in more than a century.

Those of us along the Pacific Coast will greet Persephone (the Greek goddess of spring) Monday evening, while the following day will bring on the new season for those in Central (05:14 Universal Time) and Eastern (1:14 a.m. EDT) America.

Not since 1896 has spring arrived this early, when the spring equinox occurred at 6:23 p.m. on March 19. But from here on out, spring will arrive earlier and earlier at every four interval — with the vernal equinox happening on March 20 for the three years in between each cycle. For example, in 2013, 2014 and 2015, spring starts on March 20. In 2016, the season will begin on March 19 at 8:30 p.m. Then it's back to March 20 again, until 2020.

So why is the equinox so fickle? According to Space.com, it's because "a year is not an even number of days, and neither are the seasons" and "Earth's elliptical orbit is changing its orientation relative to the sun."

Does it seem like spring yet in Hercules? Is your garden blooming? Share your spring pictures by clicking "upload photos" above.