According to BirdCast, the spring bird migration is underway across parts of the nation! The Live Migration map is suggesting that nearly 46 million birds were in flight and on their way north early Sunday morning across the Central and Eastern US. Keep an eye and ear out for your favorite bird(s) over the coming days and weeks. Even though there's still a pile of snow on the ground, nature is already doing her thing and in a hurry for new life to return to a backyard near you.

"Carolus Linneaus, a Swedish scientist, gave the red-winged blackbird its scientific name, Agelaius phoenicus, in 1766. The name comes from the Greek words for flocking and red. Red-winged blackbirds are one of the most widespread birds in North America. This is evident come early spring, when the glossy black males claim territory near water, issuing loud calls to chase away rivals and intruders, including the occasional human. To defend their home base, they extend their wings to highlight their red-and-yellow shoulder markings. Red-winged blackbird calls are harsh and noisy. Males claim territory with a full-throated conk-la-ree. Sarah Winnicki, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, says the sound reminds them of a "wetland on an early spring morning."

See more from Birds & Blooms HERE:

According Journey North, there have been several redwing blackbird sightings across the Twin Cities metro! See more here:

Forecast: Auroral activity will be active. Weather permitting, active auroral displays will be visible overhead from Inuvik, Yellowknife, Rankin and Iqaluit to Juneau, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Sept-Iles, and visible low on the horizon from Vancouver, Great Falls, Pierre, Madison, Lansing, Ottawa, Portland and St. Johns.

See more from the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks HERE:

Every year in the spring, the National Mall National Park Service in Washington DC celebrates the peak bloom of its cherry blossom trees with a festival. The cherry blossom trees were gifted to the United States from Japan as a symbol of friendship in 1912. These trees produce beautiful pink and white flowers, which bloom for only a short time before falling to the ground. The festival celebrates the arrival of spring and the beauty of the cherry blossom trees. People come from all over to see the trees in full bloom and take part in activities such as parades, concerts, and picnics. It's a special time of year in Washington DC and a reminder of the importance of friendship between nations.

"March 20, 2023 - Spring leaf out continues to spread north, arriving several days to weeks earlier than average (the period of 1991-2020) in much of the Southeast, lower Midwest, and mid-Atlantic. PIttsburgh, PA is 17 days early. Parts of SE Colorado and Kansas are days to a week late. The West is a mix of early and late. Southwest UT is days to over a week late and Portland, OR is 2 days late. Spring bloom has also arrived in southern states, days to weeks early in the Southeast, and days to over a week late in the Southwest. Nashville, TN is 25 days early, Las Vegas, NV is 8 days late. How typical is this year's spring? Darker colors represent springs that are unusually early or late in the long-term record. Gray indicates an average spring. Parts of the Southeast, lower Midwest, mid-Atlantic, and New York City area are seeing either the earliest spring leaf on record or a spring that only occurs once every 40 years (dark green). Parts of Arizona are seeing a spring that only occurs this late once every 40 years (purple). Spring bloom is latest on record across parts of the Southwest including California and Arizona, and earliest on record in parts of the upper Southeast including Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina."

See more from the National Phenology Network HERE:

According to the National Weather Service, we just ended the 9th longest stretch of at least 1" of snow on the ground at the MSP Airport. The impressive stretch started back in December of 2022 and officially ended at 1AM on Sunday, March 26th. The longest stretch was back in the winter of 1964-1965 when there was at least 1" of snow on the ground for 136 days.

As of Saturday, March 25th, the MSP Airport still had 1" of snow on the ground. This was the last day that MSP officially had 1" of snow on the ground. By 1AM Sunday, March 26th, the official snow depth at the MSP Airport was down to a Trace. However, much of Minnesota and into northern Wisconsin has a pretty significant snowpack. Nearly 2ft to 3ft of snow is on the ground near Lake Superior and more than 3ft on the ground near across parts of the U.P. of Michigan.

With more than 81" of snow, the MSP Airport is currently sitting at the 8th snowiest winter on record! We need less than 4" of additional snow to get into the top 5, but would need almost an additional 18" to get to the top spot.

"No real changes in the last two weeks... The late March updated outlook for spring flooding in the upper Mississippi, Minnesota, and Chippewa River basins remains well above normal, particularly on the Mississippi from St. Paul downstream. The very high snowpack for this time of year has remained in place over the last two weeks. There is some good news! The 7-10 day temperature and precipitation pattern is favorable for a slow melting period through the end of March (details later in the briefing). As always, the threat of seeing major flooding will still depend on what kind of rainfall/temperature patterns we get as we move into April."

See more from the NWS Twin Cities HERE:

According to the Twin Cities National Weather Service, we have not yet hit 50F this March. If we fail to do so, this will be the first time we haven't hit 50F in March since 2001.

The NBM extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis shows a string of 30s and 40s through the end of the month and into early April. Interestingly, the last time we hit 50F or warmer was back on November 26th (53F). On average, we hit our first 50F on March 4th. Last year, we hit our first 50F on March 15th (51F).

The weather outlook for the Twin Cities on Monday, March 27th shows quiet weather in place with a mix of sun and clouds. Temps will warm into the mid 40s, which will still be a little below average for the end of March.

The hourly temps through the day Monday will start in the mid 20s in the morning and will warm into the mid 40s by the afternoon. There will be a mix of clouds and sun with north to northwesterly winds around 5mph to 10mph.

Feels like temps on Monday will start around 20F in the morning and will warm into the upper 30s by the afternoon.

Weather conditions will still be fairly quiet across the Upper Midwest through midweek. Late week could feature a larger storm system with areas of rain and snow close to home. Meanwhile, strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible in the Central and Southern US later this week with locally heavy rainfall. There will also be areas of rain and snow across parts of the Western US.

Widely scattered showers and storms will develop in the Central and Southern US later this week, some of which could be strong to severe with locally heavy rains. The severe threat could be fairly widespread, stay tuned for more.

Temps will warm into the 30s and low/mid 40s through the week ahead, which will be nearly -5F to -15F below average for this time of the year.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 day temperature outlook shows cooler than average temperatures across much of the northern tier of the nation and especially across the Midwest and Northwest. Meanwhile, warmer than average temperatures will settle in across the Southern and Southeastern US.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 Day precipitation outlook shows active weather continuing across much of the nation with the exception of the Southwest.

Hold on a second. I'm trying to remember names of neighbors emerging from hibernation. I've traded in my sedan for a vintage WWII tank to better navigate giant, man-eating potholes. I'm almost looking forward to construction season. Wait. Nope.

More subtle signs of spring-to-come? Rumbles of snow sliding off my roof. Chipper birdsong outside my window to cheer me up. The sun feels warmer (it should - sun angle is now equivalent to September 15). When it does snow many roads remain wet, and "rain" is showing up more and more in the 7-Day. We are by no means out of the (snowy) woods, but real warm fronts accompanied by rumbles of thunder are roughly a month away.

Another cool slap courtesy of Canada drops highs into the 30s by midweek but 40s return later in the week as our slow-motion meltdown continues. Models hint at a little slush Friday night. The pattern looks chilly and very capable of accumulating snow through the first or second week of April. Wasn't it Prince who sang "sometimes it snows in April?"

MONDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy and quiet. Winds: NW 5-10. Low: 20.

TUESDAY: Chilled sunshine. Nighttime flurries. Winds: W 10-15. High: 37.

WEDNESDAY: Becoming sunny. Nippy for late March. Winds: NW 7-12. Wake-up: 18. High 33.

THURSDAY: Milder, light rain-snow mix possible. Winds: SE 8-13. Wake-up: 17. High 43.

FRIDAY: Mixed precipitation. Nighttime slush? Winds: NE 10-20. Wake-up: 31. High 39.

SUNDAY: Few rain showers. Winds: S 10-20. Wake-up: 26. High: 42.

March 27th

1946: A record high of 78 is set at Redwood Falls.

March 27th

Average High: 47F (Record: 75F set in 1946)

Record Rainfall: 1.52" set in 1998

Record Snowfall: 5.6" set in 1965

March 27th

Sunrise: 7:02am

Sunset: 7:33pm

Daylight GAINED since yesterday: +3 Minutes & 8 Seconds

Daylight GAINED since Winter Solstice (December 21st): ~ 3 hour & 45 minutes

0.8 Days Before First Quarter Moon

Temperatures on Monday will still be cooler than average across much of the western half of the nation and especially along the Front Range and Intermountain West. Meanwhile, folks in the Southeastern US will be warmer than average.

The weather outlook on Monday will be unsettled across the Southern US, where some strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible. Areas of heavy rain and mountain snow will be possible in the Western US.

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, the extended precipitation outlook shows heavier amounts across parts of the Southern US with localized flooding possible. There will be areas of heavy precipitation in the Western US as well and especially in the high elevations

According to the ECMWF (European model), heavy snow will be found across much of the high elevations in the Western US and across the northern tier of the nation.

"As Arctic sea ice reached a total winter maximum coverage that is again far below average, research has revealed how this ice is vulnerable to extreme weather arriving from more southerly parts of the globe — and how it might never recover. Arctic sea ice, which expands through the fall and winter, reached an annual maximum extent of 14.62 million square kilometers (5.64 million square miles) on March 6, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). That means Arctic sea ice is starting the summer melt season more than a million square kilometers below average. The maximum, which came almost a week earlier than normal, is the fifth-lowest in the 45-year satellite record."

See more from Mongabay HERE:

"Oyster mushrooms. Chanterelles. Chicken of the woods. Mushrooms are more than abundant in California's 1.6 million acres of forests, where enthusiasts can usually forage for fungi from mid-October to mid-April. This year, thanks to an abundance of rainfall driven by 29 atmospheric rivers that have hit California since October 2022, 'shroom hunters are in for a treat: a hotly anticipated "super shroom" event. Here's what you need to know about it. What is a "super shroom"? Modeled after the term "super bloom" (a phenomenon where California's deserts get a higher than average yield of wildflowers), a "super shroom" is a colloquial term for when an unusually high number of both common and rare mushrooms begin to fruit after a period of heavy rainfall. During periods of prolonged drought, many species of mushrooms become dormant, and when rain finally does come, thousands can sprout all at once."

"After being pummeled by a string of unusually strong snowstorms over the winter, ski areas in the Western United States are extending their seasons—and one resort even plans to stay open until July. Ski areas typically try to keep their chairlifts and gondolas running as long as possible, provided that enough snow is covering their runs. And this spring, there's plenty of powder to go around. California's Big Bear Mountain Resort, located about 100 miles east of Los Angeles, has extended its winter season by at least three weeks and will now stay open until April 30, reports Julia Schneemann for SnowBrains. This season, the resort has so far gotten 210 inches of snow, a record high in at least the past 20 years, per the Orange County Register's Laylan Connelly."

See more from Smithsonian Magazine HERE: