Red moon at night leads to a Spring delight!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Just in case you missed it....yes the super moon lived up to the hype. This picture was sent in by Donna Deegan at Jacksonville Beach and this was not enhanced or doctored up. This is how it actually looked as it rose over the Atlantic Ocean last night. The deeper red color than normal was a sign of just how dry the atmosphere has been over the past few weeks. We are now running about 2 inches of rain below average now for the month of March. Great job Donna! This looked more like a picture of Mars or a lunar eclipse...just unbelievable! What happens is that when you are in a drought like we are it allows particles, aerosols, pollutants, and dust to build up. The moon's light that is already having to travel through more of the atmosphere near the horizon now has those longer wavelengths of light scattered and refracted even more by those atmospheric nuclei thus enhancing the moon light's deep colors! Yes, we were bedazzled without a doubt. Here are a few more pictures. Thank you so much for sending these in! Enough of the superlatives. I will let these pictures do the talking.

Thank you Rusty Gardner of Fleming Island. This is certainly one of my favorites!

Angel Santiago showing the Hart Bridge and St. John's River all lit up! Great job!

Thank you Amanda on the West side and yes it looks like it was the best side to pick up the moon's glare. This looks more like the sun.

Thanks Cindy Owens! Vilano Beach is one of my favorite places to get away from it all!

Awesome detail Tim Rucci! The moon over Jacksonville at 8:23 p.m. Please teach me to take pictures like this!

Last but no least...most of the country did not have crystal clear conditions like we did here at home. The talented Richard Beedle in Indiana comes through again and shows us that despite a thick stratus canopy of clouds there was still no stopping the bright moonlight...not on this night that will be a memorable one! Notice the trees there are budding. Yes, happy Spring everybody and thanks for the pictures. You do not need a super moon to keep sending me great weather and nature pictures. Keep them coming and send them in to weather@firstcoastnews.com. Thanks so much for sharing! This is what makes blogging and my job so much fun!

Now today is another big day for all us weather enthusiasts! It is the vernal equinox which means Spring officially begins at 7:21 p.m. Equinox comes from a Latin word meaning equal days and equal nights. Spring arrives when the sun's direct rays reach the equator. The tilt of the earth gives us our seasons and as the earth continues to orbit around the sun the Northern Hemisphere will bask in those direct rays and longer days with summer not far away on June 21st. Yesterday we had a taste of summer across the area as Jacksonville tied a record high of 89 degrees! It hit 90 in Palatka and Folkston. The pool was the place to be that is for sure. Even though most pools do not open until next Friday you see the kids were having a good time swimming and staying cool!

Today our summer bubble bursts with cooler Spring breezes developing but it will still be comfortable with temperatures where they should be for this time of year. Highs will be in the middle to upper 70s. The one thing missing from our forecast once again though is Spring showers. I only see a slight chance of rain and any rain showers that do pop will be brief at best and likely confined to coastal areas. Make sure to tune in tonight and I will have your Spring forecast! It will be nothing to sneeze at like the pollen which is once again through the roof today. Can we look forward to some Spring showers on the increase? I do see better rain chances but not until next week into the first part of April. I will let you know why a pattern change is on the way at 11 p.m. and have your one and only 10 day forecast. See you soon and Happy Spring!