Pittsburgh Weather: Spring Equinox Brings Longer Days To Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Enjoying the sunshine both today and yesterday? You may not even notice that days are really starting to get longer. It obviously happens every year, but it is always nice to see the days getting stretched out.

Have you ever wondered why?

We can start by talking about what happens during the spring equinox.

So, what is the spring equinox?

It's the time where the Earth's poles switch position, with the North Pole leaning towards the sun and the South Pole leaning away from the sun. Interesting fact, the Earth reaches the farthest point from the sun as we head into summer. The reason we are warmer in spring and summer isn't due to the distance of the sun, but more the angle of the sun compared to where we are located on the Earth.

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The lean towards the sun is also the reason we see and get to enjoy longer days. On March 1, we saw 11 hours and 17 minutes of "daylight." This Sunday, we will see 12 hours and 37 hours of "daylight." The increased angle of the sun, and the time the sun is out are players in us warming us as well. Just think, in just over a month, we are seeing an hour and 20 minutes more sunshine every day.

If you are wondering, by the end of April, we will be seeing nearly 14 hours of sunshine every day.

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