We are over the hump. The average temperatures are rising and the days are gradually lengthening. The jet stream, which governs the flow of cold and warm air is inching its way to the north, ushering in labile weather patterns; polar fronts will still push south but the frigid air won't persist for weeks at a time. The February sun, still low in the sky, will add little to the warm spells; those initial episodes of spring fever will arrive on southerly winds, produced by the jet and its Pacific fronts.
But, though winter is far from done with the Midwest, the signs of seasonal change will appear throughout the month. Warming of the upper soil will trigger the bloom of our first wildflowers: snowdrops, winter aconites and crocuses. By mid month, birdsong will echo through our neighborhoods, ending a long, quiet season that began in November. And, before February ends, the geese will begin their northward migration, great horned owls will be on the nest and tree frogs will call from the shallows.
This is a month for patience. Signs of spring will mix with the last gasps of winter and nature will move at her own, unpredictable pace. We might as well savor each day, knowing that, soon enough, we'll come to loathe those hot, humid days of summer.
