Brighter Days Ahead

Okay I'll admit it. I've got a bad case of SAD.

I tired valiantly to fight it off as long as possible this year...but the January doldrums finally got me. I'm sick of winter, sick of gray, sick of the cold...and I know I'm not alone. Yes, even your friendly neighborhood weatherman gets a little SAD in mid-winter.

Thankfully I've got hockey...the best, adrenaline rush and endorphin pumping workout I know of during these cold winter months. It's also a great way to lose a few extra holiday pounds.

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The good news is even though it's the "dead of winter" there are signs that seasonal change is just a few weeks away. Dare I utter the word...? "Spring?"

Here are some positive benchmarks in the next few weeks:

-Daylight is now rapidly increasing! We're gaining more than 2 minutes a day now. We'll be gaining 3 minutes a day starting next week! You can caluclate the length of daylight for any location at the USNO site here.

Daylight increases 1 hour 18 minutes in the Twin Cities in February!

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-The sun angle increases noticeably in the next few weeks. In less than a month the sun at noon will be 34 degrees above the southern horizon at solar noon. That's a full 12 degrees higher than the 22 degrees on the winter solstice last month.

- Temperatures respond to the increasing solar energy in the next month. Our average high temp reaches 30 degrees in just over 3 weeks, and 45 degrees in the next 60 days!

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-In just 6 weeks daylight saving time resumes...and the sun will set after 7pm (7:16pm) on March 13th!

-Meteorlogical Spring begins on March 1st, just 34 days from now!

-Asronomical Spring begins on March 20th at 6:21pm!

Bottom line for everyone who's (more than) a little tired of winter, hang in there. Brighter days are truly just around the corner!

PH