“’Twas Easter Sunday. The full-blossomed trees filled all the air with fragrance and with joy.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The days leading up to Easter Sunday in Southern California are usually the very definition of spring. Many other regions across the U.S. remain buried under the past winter’s snow. Some are currently impacted by snow storms. Then there are those areas affected by springtime flooding from the melt-off of past snowstorms. Weather is always influential in planning Easter egg hunts, deciding church or synagogue attire and other seasonal happenings.

For the most part, holidays and celebrations occur on the same date each and every year. Halloween is always celebrated on Oct. 31, Christmas on Dec. 25 and Independence Day on July 4. These are based on a “solar calendar,” determined by the Earth’s rotation on its axis (measured in days) and the Earth’s revolution about the sun (measured in years).

Passover and Easter Sunday, on the other hand, occur on changeable dates based on a “lunar calendar” according to the phase of the moon. In the case of Passover, this holiday is celebrated on the date of the first full moon after the spring equinox, and Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox date. Thus, the dates allowed for Easter Sunday within the context of this definition can range from March 22 to April 23.

One week out and beyond we’ll be on a spring-like, in other words a mild, roller coaster ride. Up and down, with no up being too high or down too low. Tomorrow and Saturday are expected to climb to the low 80s and come back down on Sunday with temperatures close to 70 degrees. What about April showers or the so-called spring rain? Come and gone …

            “Happy Easter”                                                     “Pesach Sameach”

Sue Kilpatrick is a Crescenta Valley resident and  Official Skywarn Spotter for the
National Weather Service. Reach her at
suelkilpatrick@gmail.com.