BILL MILLER
Is it? Could it be? Honestly, is this the end of winter/beginning of spring?
It's March 14 (Saturday is the IDES, Brutus!) and the thermometer says 55. Sure feels good after what seems like a neverending stretch of days in the teens, 20s and 30s since Thanksgiving.
Sure, there are still a lot of ugly grayish mounds of dirty snow laying around, and the landscape looks more like something from Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" than the lush greenness it will become in a matter of weeks. I mean, on my drive to the office earlier this week, along county roads and country fields, I could detect virtually no colors other than white, brown, shade of gray and black.
It's like Nature's last punch to see if you deserve spring. A tough go, but oh the payoff! By the way, if you spot any early spring color like crocuses or even daffodils on a sunny slope, take a picture and put it on our GetPublished photo gallery.
There's another side to spring, though — March-April-May is the season for severe storms and possible tornadoes. Don't miss Bob Warner's story Saturday on the Skywarn weather-spotter training March 21 at Lakeview Middle School.
The National Weather Service needs trained spotters to help gather critical information about weather events — which are sure to come in the weeks ahead. And a timely spotter report could help save lives.
Higher temps in spring often bring unsettled skies. Looking back one year ago today at Battle Creek Weather Station stats, the high was 58, followed by mostly 30s and 40s until it hit 77 on March 27.
So there may be ice and snow yet to come, but we know winter is finally behind us, and that's a mighty good feeling.
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