A Peek At February... On & Off Earth

January thaw, better late than never

A good little shake in Maine..

Crazy!

February 2025 - On & Off Earth

When those first flakes started to fall back on the first Sunday of the new year, few, certainly not I, would have thought their refrozen remnants would still be around on the last Sunday of the month. Yet, hidden in the shadows, throughout the forest and along the edges of fields, patches of snow remained. But, turns out, by the time you read this, that last Sunday kicked off our long awaited January thaw and those patches of snow are now groundwater.

The weather service forecast for February does not look promising for snow lovers. Their models have us swinging out of the deep chill and back into the warm zone for the shortest month. On February 2nd, another forecaster, a well known Quaker woodchuck, under much national media scrutiny, will be coddled into revealing one rodent’s take on what winter has left to offer.

Folklore is fun (Warning: “For entertainment purposes only”) but Phil’s forecast seems backwards to me. If he sees his shadow, it must be sunny. Yet, the shadow sighting means more winter ahead. A cloudy day, with no shadow cast, would tell me, that more gloomy days of winter lie ahead. My first February forecast; by Valentine’s Day, Phil’s forecast will be long forgotten.

There are very reliable forecasts for February. Every day of the month the sun rises a minute earlier and sets a minute later, gaining an hour over the month. We really can see the light at the end of winter’s long tunnel. That extra sunlight will begin kicking plants into grow mode, the drab shades of winter gradually replaced with hints of green and splashes of yellow. Forsythia and jonquils, sure signs that Spring is lurking.

February’s sky treats begin on the 1st. Barring cloud cover, step out that night to see the closest Moon/Venus conjunction (pairing) for at least a year. Venus’ run as the Evening Star is winding down and it will drop a little lower every night over the month. Earth shine will light the ‘dark’ portion of the moon as a bonus that night.

While Venus blazes in the west, high in the southern sky is an even more sparkling show. Jupiter is the beacon high in the south, it’s steady light outshining all the twinkling, colorful stars of winter. Sprawling below Jupiter is Orion, the Hunter, and a handy guide to the winter sky. The three stars of Orion’s belt lead your eyes up toward reddish Aldebaran and down toward the Dog Star, blue-white Sirius. Another red giant star, Betelgeuse, marks Orion’s right shoulder, blue-white Rigel, the hunter’s left knee. Not easily ignored, Mars glows red in the east, still paired with the stars of Gemini.

The moon joins Jupiter and Aldebaran on the 6th, slides over to Mars and Gemini on the 9th. On the 12th, the Full Snow moon will rise near Leo’s bright heart, Regulus. Will there be snow on the ground to reflect all that moonlight like there was last month? I will not make that forecast. I will predict that the sun will move from Capricorn into Aquarius on the 17th.

I did enjoy the snow, how it added contrast to the woods by day and then filled them with soft moonlight by night. The timing also worked out perfectly for a two day ski adventure I had already planned. I can’t say I enjoyed the long, brutal cold spell but I really wasn’t surprised. Even though it had been seven years since we had experienced an extended stretch of below freezing temperatures, extreme seems to be the new normal on Earth. February: we could be shoveling snow or gassing up lawn mowers.

One final forecast; with Valentine’s Day on a Friday, you will need to get your Obrigado reservation in EARLY!