Daylight savings time to ‘spring forward’ on Sunday March 13

It’s that time of year again, when sheer devotion to general busy-ness and overexertion necessitate an annual ‘spring forward,’ otherwise known as one less hour of sleep, approved via referendum in Wisconsin on April 2, 1957, pursuant to apparent voter’s wishes at the time, or at least those who voted. GLARE ICE

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The annual sleep loss, tied to Daylight Savings Time (DST) and set to hit at exactly 2 a.m. this coming Sunday March 13, will see area residents getting out of bed earlier as currently stipulated in Chapter 175.095 of Wisconsin state law, one hour earlier than that provided for in 175.09 (1), the latter defined as being "solar time of the ninetieth meridians west of Greenwich, commonly known as central time.”

Changing the referendum-approved sleep loss for non-fans might be difficult, as a previous 2107 effort by Representatives Michael Schraa of Oshkosh and Samantha Kerkman of Salem was pulled before a vote, due to negative response. Hawaii and Arizona, meanwhile, are among those states which do not ob- serve the commerce defined time change, citing heat and tropical location respectively as excuses for the exemption.

In local weather news this past week meanwhile, the changing if unregulated seasonal weather patterns saw glare ice on area roads, met in turn with a responsive and attentive response from the highway department, after a cold rain towards midnight on March 4 froze over in a clear and smooth sheet as temperatures dropped below freezing overnight.

Following the salt and sand-based government response to area glare ice, a warming thermometer in the area the following day March 4 brought down steady rain as thermometers hovered at and above freezing 33 degrees, while a temperature drop after sunset saw the same rain turned to snow, leaving a light dusting on area vehicles, on top of a hard ice sheet from the rain that pelted windows.

Looking forward as spring continues to make inroads on winter, the equinox of March 20 will see winter and spring evenly matched in terms of light versus darkness, before longer days and a warmer climate ultimately win out over the cold.

Until next year, that is.

Visiting Boyd in addition to Stanley, glare ice was met with salt and sand as the end of winter approached, pending the spring equinox. Photo by Joseph Back.