First Day of Spring Equinox 2011
March 21st, 2011 | by |Winter gave way to Spring on Sunday afternoon, though the weather still feels downright winter-like.
California was hit by heavy rains and winds on the spring equinox — particularly in the Santa Barbara and Ventura areas.
“We have received a large amount of rain — we’re talking about 10 inches of rain around the Cachuma area,” said Michael Harris, Santa Barbara County’s emergency operations chief.
Rain gauges showed rainfall up to 10.54 inches along the Santa Ynez River in the last 48 hours.
Rainfall of a quarter of an inch to half an inch per hour was expected in Los Angeles, with the possibility of rock slides and mudslides, authorities said.
Astronomical spring -– the spring or vernal equinox -– occurs at 4:21 p.m. in California. Meteorologist Richard Castro of the National Weather Service told the Chicago Tribune the event signifies that the sun crosses the celestial equator on its way north.
It also signifies that across the planet today, there are approximately equal amounts of daylight and sunlight, though the actual dates when that happens vary depending on how far north or south a place is.
–Shelby Grad and Molly Hennessy-Fiske
Photo: Rain in downtown L.A. Credit: Shelby Grad / Los Angeles Times
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