I'm surprised stargazer hasn't posted this yet. This is the time that the moon is closest to the earth since 1993. Denver Post is reported tonight is the largest moon that will be seen at that time. See this link.

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_17654210

Peek out your windows and see if you can catch the moon tonight.

Thanks for mentioning this, Fencer. I've thought about posting it but was away from the computer today.

It's raining here right now so the moon is hiding from me. Ah well...

In other news, the March equinox comes at 2321 GMT tonight (Sunday night in UK, Sunday afternoon/evening in the US). The sun is directly over the equator and days and nights are of roughly equal length worldwide. Spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern.

it snowed yesterday almost all day and for the first part of today where is my spring it's pretty warm and things are slowly slowly melting, but still, it doesn't feel very Springy outside, especially when it snows

Cold and wet weather yesterday and today in Southern California. Local rain totals are now over 15 inches for the season. More rain expected during the week.

What is this spring you speak of?

The next 36 hours will be quite active here, weather-wise. GlimGlum, that storm is headed our way, and will bring up to 2 inches/5 cm of rain in thunderstorms tomorrow - followed by up to 10 inches/25 cm of snow just north of here. Winter storm and blizzard warnings have been posted for the northern part of Minnesota.

This rain and snow will aggravate the flood situation - ice jams are raising rivers above flood levels already, and some bridges and roads have been closed. This rain will melt a lot of the remaining snowpack, and that water's just going to come downstream too. Could be a very interesting weekend!

Not what I wanted today. Had a great morning that was warm, nice, and calm. I head out for the 3:00pm class and get hammer with wind. Dirt is already in the air and the mountains are getting difficult to see (they are only a couple miles away from where I live, and I mean just 2-3 miles at most). Still need to go back out in an hour to meet with the Student Government of my campus to get money to go to Chicago in 2 1/2 weeks.

Whew, Graymouser, I'm glad you're okay! Do you know anyone in the affected area of Japan?

stargazer: that photo is hilarious (even though I am not in agreement with the sign, lol).

Thanks for the info on Mercury, 'gazer. I was having trouble for a couple of reasons: most of our evenings are cloudy this time of year and facing west from our house is full of obstacles (trees, mainly), but traveling home on Friday from a mini-moot in Buffalo, the sky to the west was clear and there is no doubt where Mercury was. This puts me in mind of a couple of years ago when it was low on the south-eastern horizon early in the morning. I set my alarm for 5, I think it was, walked to the nearest school park, which affords an expansive view in that direction, climbed the playground equipment to get a better view, and was treated to Mercury then too. It's fun spotting a rather elusive planet, albeit challenging at times since it prefers the horizon as opposed to higher up.

Fencer, I was always amazed at that dust storm in Hidalgo, so was intrigued to read your account. A mile or so high? Wowser! You said you couldn't outrun it ... so, what happened?

We were all out to see that beautiful moon on Saturday evening. Watching it rise, then filling the sky with its brightness as it got higher and higher was so cool. The only disadvantage, of course, was that the stars were almost blotted out in its glare.

Local rain totals are now over 15 inches for the season. More rain expected during the week.

Glim, hope you like rain okay.

That storm is headed our way, as well. We say goodbye to the rain (which has been off and on for the past week with temperatures now above freezing) and hello to snow again. Am I happy? (Is the sky blue? ) The temperatures will be dropping tomorrow afternoon, with snow arriving in the evening and continuing into Wednesday. Some accumulation ... most definitely. Can. Hardly. Wait! The rest of the week is to be unsettled as well, with temperatures hovering around freezing, but the wind chill keeping the snow around for a few days yet.

Jo, the wall of dirt engulfed everything. It wasn't nearly to the extent of what we see in Hidalgo. We could see about 30 feet in front of us. We had about a mile to go to get to the restaurant. When we got there, we dashed inside, ate, and waited it out. But we've never seen the wall of dirt that occurs to us every year or so from that angle save for that day. It truly was a sight to behold and one you wished you were inside out of it when it happened.

That is really something, Fencer! Like you were in a movie! Glad you were safe. 'Twould truly be a sight to behold!

Well, even though spring has officially arrived, winter is not giving up without a fight: a major winter storm is tearing through our area today. Apparently east of Toronto there is hardly anything, whereas at our west end of the lake, we are being pounded by heavy snow. I'm loving it, but do feel for those out on the roads. I did my errands early this morning, and wouldn't have wanted to go any further afield. 'Tis treacherous out there! It's around -5C/23F, but with the wind chill feels more like -13/8.6F. I just may wear a light coat outside for shoveling today.

20+ cm/8 inches are supposed to fall, but most likely more than that. It is showing no sign of abating, rather the storm is intensifying. Visibility is almost nil in many places. Tomorrow the system is moving out, with clearing coming for the next five days and temperatures just below freezing with a slight wind chill, which should keep some of the snow on the ground, except for that spring sun that will begin to melt it away gradually. (Hopefully not toooo soon, though. )

we had a huge snow storm today so much for my hopes of an early spring, although the snow is melting, the level of snow is definatly going down, but it snows almost every day , ah well at least it rained last night, and I'm really praying for more rain soon, to help the snow melt faster. It's been a long, cold and very snowy winter, and I'm more than ready for spring

Speaking of snowstorms...

Heavy rain yesterday melted most of our snow, and more highways were closed due to flooding. It promised to make rush hour a little more interesting today.

But that California storm turned over to wet, heavy snow last night, and the forecast of 3-5 inches (8-12 cm) for today proved woefully inadequate as we came in close to double that (about 7 inches here). Areas north of here - including some that really don't need the moisture - had up to 14 inches (35 cm). And it's 'heart attack' snow that can be dangerous to shovel.

We're in a world of white now - and in the top 5 of all-time seasonal snowfall totals.

It nice and warm here in El Paso. Highs are in the upper 70's and 80's. Every afternoon however so far has brought winds. Only Monday got a dirt storm so far, and I hope that's it for a while. Monday wasn't remotely as bad as the wall of dirt I described in the previous page and on this one. We are fast approaching summer, even though the calendar just turned to Spring.

Here it has been hailing, raining and... winding? Lol It's been windy. The wind has been so strong, it has bent some metal structures in half.

~Riella

Wow Fencer, what an experience! Have never had anything like that happen to me and hope not to-sounds scary! It has been beautiful here, but is a little chilly this morning (in the 40s). Rain is expected this weekend, which is great Hope it will wash away some of this pollen.

the weather here is behaving very odd, snow storms, then sun, then snow storms again all in a matter of hours. It's gotten cold again too and tomorrow they are promising a blizzard......I really hope it doesn't come . The wind is very very strong, and when it snows...it really snows

today it changed from this:

to this:
in about half an hour