Warm-up underway for the weekend

A pattern change is currently underway.  We say goodbye to cold Arctic air and say hello to late March-like temperatures before the weekend is over.

The warm-up started Friday when temperatures reached 30° in Lincoln.  We keep going upward through the weekend.  Highs will climb to the 40°s Saturday and then the 50°s and low 60°s Sunday.

A stronger late February sun will help aid the increase in temperatures.  It is amazing how quickly the Sun’s rays increase in solar strength this time of year.  The sun on March 1 is nearly 28% stronger than it is February 1.  Compare it to January 1 and the sun’s rays are 64% stronger.

It isn’t that the sun itself is stronger.  It has to do with the tilting of the Earth.  As we move towards summer, the Sun gets higher in the sky, which leads to more direct sunlight.  When the Sun is lower, the sunlight is spread over more surface area of the Earth.  By March 1 the Sun’s height in the sky is approximately 58% higher than that of January 1.

Sun Angle in Lincoln:

• January 1 – 25°
• March 1 – 41°

It appears temperatures will remain much above normal through next week with highs in the 50°s and 60°s.

– Chief Meteorologist John Dissauer