More Snow…Then Cold…Again

The trend continues: 6 inches of snow and then brutal cold; and we're in early March. 5 degrees this morning blows up all old records for March 6 and the temp is unlikely to break the freezing mark today with another clear, dry and therefore cold night coming. The weekend will see temps above freezing and next week predictions are for about average temperatures and little or no rain…or sleet…or snow…or freezing rain…
Yesterday's snow/rain/sleet event was slow developing but once it got started the snow was heavy; an inch an hour for 6 hours. I did manage to get out for a walk before it got too wild. Left the tirehouse at 12:30 with the ground mostly bare with sleet pelting down. By the time I returned at 1:40 the ground was covered with an inch of snow and it was full on dumping. My tracks out the driveway were filled in by the time I had turned around and walked back down the drive. Central Va. is once again white, schools are closed, folks are hunkered down and the birds are crazy outside after the seed I've thrown out. Spring is two weeks away but you wouldn't know it to look outside.
The moon was full yesterday and finally visible late evening as the storm moved east and off shore and that full moon was bright on the snow covered world. Spectacular pairings this cycle with Venus and Mars and then the flyby past Jupiter have made it worth venturing out to check out our satellite on the recent cold nights. Venus and Mars are still fairly close and lovely in the west after sunset (Mars needs near darkness but Venus is brilliant as soon as the sun sets); Venus rising a little higher each day and Mars sinking lower. Uranus, for telescope viewers, is out there with our neighbor worlds and will be visible in the same field of a scope on the 11th with Mars. On the 12th, the waning gibbous moon will be just left of Saturn, best seen in the morning sky.
The morning sky will be dark an hour later than this week as of Sunday morning when we shift our clocks forward and move the early morning light to the end of the day. Another seemingly clever move by a not so clever Congress, putting millions of school children out in the dark every morning waiting for school busses.  I'm sure some greedy lobby asked for the change (it will save energy - read: make us more money) but the fewer days kids have to wait in the dark for the bus, the better.  Alas…
There have been no major shakes for several days around the shifting tectonic planet but a couple of volcanoes are literally fired up. Villarrica in Chile is blasting tephra and oozing lava and Mexico's Popo is showing no signs of taking a break. Kamchatka is still the place to stay away from with 4 active, fiery mountains on the peninsula as well as on several nearby islands.
Earth is still in charge, very much so in central Va!! It's lovely but be careful out there, today on Earth!