Abby Derkson/Winonan
The snow and ice have (mostly) melted. The birds are chirping. With the warmer weather, some students shed their coats. Others wear shorts. For many students, these are the signs of spring.
The first official day of spring was March 20, otherwise known as the vernal equinox. The date is symbolic of spring, signaling warm weather to come. On the vernal equinox, day and night are of equal length worldwide. But this doesn’t mean a springy climate has arrived with it.
In Minnesota, there are many years when snow is still on the ground and the weather is bitter. Last year on March 20, the highest temperature was around 20 degrees. This year the high was around 40 degrees.
For student Megan Henle, the warm weather is a signal that even warmer weather is right around the corner.
“There were a couple of times when the temperature kept below zero and I questioned if spring would even come,” she said. “When we get above 20 degrees, that’s spring.”
For Henle, spring brings a new, vibrant season. While she will miss playing in the snow and drinking hot chocolate, she won’t miss slipping on the ice.
“I’m the kind of type to just roll with it,” she said. “But, it’ll be nice to walk around the lake.”
Other students like Colten Klassen are also looking forward to the warm weather. The warm weather makes Klassen’s job as a delivery driver for Toppers Pizza more bearable than in winter.
“I hate cold,” he said. “In the spring it warms up and everything comes back to life.”
Not everyone is thankful and excited that the frigid conditions will soon come to an end—some students prefer winter weather. One of these students, Kaylee Jakubowski, will miss the cold.
“In the spring it’s just wet,” she said.
Kelly Lantz is another student who actually prefers the cold winter to warm spring or summer.
“I think that winter hasn’t stayed long enough,” Lantz said. “It was good for a while when it was -30 in the cities over break, but then it warmed up back to zero, and I wasn’t a fan.”
While some are afraid winter will make a comeback in April or May, Lantz looks forward to the potential cooldown.
“I know that eventually winter will have to leave, but it always comes back with a vengeance,” Lantz said. “I want it to come back! Last year it was awesome when we got snow in May.”
The potential for snow and low temperatures may discourage students. For Michelle Johnson, this is not the case. She describes the spring as a warmer winter.
“I’ve lived in Minnesota too long to trust Mother Nature,” Johnson said. “But, it started getting warm and would freeze again. You just know it will get warm again and keep getting warmer.”
Luckily, Minnesota weather is so temperamental it’s hard not to find at least some tolerable conditions.
“I look at everything as a spectrum,” Jakubowski said.“And everything is so unique each day. I can appreciate every day as its own season.”