For those tired of the dark, dreary days of winter, February is the month of optimism.
That’s because this is the month where the most sunlight of the year is gained.
Yes, June has much more sunlight than February. But February is where we see the biggest increase.
If sunlight were a NASCAR race, then February is where the green flag is waved. The amount of new sun is impressive. All of Wyoming gains more than an hour.
Meteorologist Don Day says the phenomenon is “all a function of latitude.”
“If you were to have a big light bulb in the middle of a room and a ball representing the earth, and you were to tilt it at the axis, that tilt of the Earth is on this time of year,” Day said.
“It’s the combination of where we are with latitude and the angle of the tilt this time of year. So you do really notice it this time of year,” he said.
Who Gains The Most?
Because it’s about latitude, you’ll see more daylight in northern Wyoming than southern.
Cody and Greybull, Day said, will experience the most increase in sunlight gaining 1 hour and 19 minutes while Rock Springs and areas in the southwest will gain the least at 1 hour and 12 minutes.
The difference between Devils Tower and Jackson (far east and far west Wyoming) is nominal, he said.
“That’s longitude,” Day chided. “Pay attention, it’s about latitude.”
The daily gain in sunlight, slows down from March thru the summer equinox on June 20, except on March 9 when we’ll see an explosion of sun.
That’s when we “spring forward” and move our clocks ahead for one hour.
For Cheyenne, that means we’ll have our first 7 p.m. sunset of the year.
Changes in Weather
Although the days will appear longer, this is normally when Wyoming starts to see more wintry weather.
“Frequency in winter storms pick up in March,” Day said. “We’re just coming out of the three driest months of the year — December through February — and we’re headed toward the four wettest months of the year, March through June.”
Day said a new weather pattern will bring more uniform cold weather to Wyoming next week and could last through the end of February.
“Everybody will get cold next week and then stay cold,” Day said.
He said the Arctic outbreak will set the stage for a cycle of Pacific storms to hit the state.
The weather phenomenon known as La Niña is fading he said, and is "exactly what will help get a storm pattern going and bring better precipitation."
Jimmy Orr can be reached at jimmy@cowboystatedaily.com.
