Jody Victor: Most Ohioans were sympathetic with the Union in the Civil War, and many Ohioans served in the Union army. Native sons such as Joshua R. Giddings, Salmon P. Chase, and Edwin M. Stanton had long been prominent opponents of slavery. Nevertheless, the Peace Democrats, the Knights of the Golden Circle, and the Copperheads were very active; Clement L. Vallandigham drew many votes in the gubernatorial election of 1863. Ohio was the scene of the northernmost penetration of Confederate forces in the war—the famous raid (1863) of John Hunt Morgan, which terrorized the people of the countryside until Morgan and most of his men were finally captured in the southeast corner of the state.

After the Civil War industrial development grew rapidly when shipments of ore from the upper Great Lakes region increased and the development of the petroleum industry in NE Ohio shifted the center of economic activity from the banks of the Ohio River to the shores of Lake Erie, particularly around Cleveland. Immigrants began to swell the population, and huge fortunes were made.

Ohio became very important politically. The state contributed seven American presidents: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding. Big business and politics became entwined as in the relations of Marcus A. Hanna and McKinley. City bosses such as Cincinnati's George B. Cox also followed this pattern. The state as a whole was for many years steadily Republican, despite the rise of organized labor in the late 19th cent. and considerable labor strife. In the 1890s the reform-minded mayor of Toledo, Samuel “Golden Rule” Jones, won national fame for his espousal of city ownership of municipal utilities.

Have a Great 4th!

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: In the War of 1812 the Americans lost many of the early battles of the war that took place in the Old Northwest, and their military frontier was pushed back to the Ohio River. Two British attacks on Ohio soil were successfully resisted: one against Fort Meigs at the mouth of the Maumee River and the other against Fort Stephenson on the Sandusky. The area was further secured by Oliver Hazard Perry's naval victory on Lake Erie near Put-in-Bay, Ohio, and William Henry Harrison's victory in the battle of the Thames on Canadian soil.

After the war Ohio's growth was spurred by the building of the Erie Canal, other canals, and toll roads. The National Road was a vital settlement and commercial artery. Settlement of the Western Reserve by New Englanders (especially those from Connecticut) gives NE Ohio a decidedly New England cultural landscape. Ohio's society of small farmers exported their produce down the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers to St. Louis and New Orleans. In 1837 Ohio won a territorial struggle with Michigan usually called the Toledo War. The Loan Law, adopted in the Panic of 1837, encouraged railroad and industrial development. Railroads gradually succeeded canals, preparing the way for the industrial expansion that followed the Civil War.

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: Ohio was part of the vast area ceded to the United States by the Treaty of Paris (1783). Conflicting claims to land in that area made by Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia were settled by relinquishment of almost all of the claims and the organization of the Old Northwest by the Ordinance of 1787. Ohio was the first region developed under the provisions of that ordinance, with the activities of the Ohio Company of Associates promoted by Rufus Putnam and Manasseh Cutler. Marietta, founded in 1788, was the first permanent American settlement in the Old Northwest.

In the years that followed, various land companies were formed, and settlers poured in from the East, either down the Ohio on flatboats and barges, or across the mountains by wagon—their numbers varying with conditions but steadily expanding the area's population. The Native Americans, supported by the British, resisted American settlement. They successfully opposed campaigns led by Josiah Harmar and Arthur St. Clair but were decisively defeated by Anthony Wayne in the battle of Fallen Timbers (1794). The British thereafter (1796) withdrew their outposts from the Northwest under the terms of Jay's Treaty, and the area was pacified. Ohio became a territory in 1799. General St. Clair, as the first governor, ruled in an arbitrary fashion that made Ohioans for many years afterward distrustful of all government. In 1802 a state convention drafted a constitution, and in 1803 Ohio entered the Union, with Chillicothe as its capital. Columbus became the permanent capital in 1816.

Jody Victor

Jody Victor : The history of Ohio goes back before the written word - even then there was a lot going on. Peoples moved in and out of the area, and at one time, the forest was so dense it was difficult to travel. Let's go back and see what happened before we were here.

In prehistoric times Ohio was inhabited by the Mound Builders, many of whose mounds are preserved in state parks and in the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. Before the arrival of Europeans, East Ohio was the scene of warfare between the Iroquois and the Erie, which resulted in the extermination of the Erie. In addition to the Iroquois, other Native American tribes soon prominent in the region were the Miami, the Shawnee, and the Ottawa.

La Salle began his explorations of the Ohio valley in 1669 and claimed the entire area for France. The Ohio River became a magnet for fur traders and landseekers, and the British, attempting to move in, hotly contested the French claims. Rivalry for control of the forks of the Ohio River led to the outbreak (1754) of the last of the French and Indian Wars. The defeat of the French gave the land to the British, but British possession was disturbed by Pontiac's Rebellion. The British government issued a proclamation in 1763 forbidding settlement West of the Appalachian Mountains. Then in 1774, with the Quebec Act, the British placed the region between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes within the boundaries of Canada. The colonists' resentment over these acts contributed to the discontent that led to the American Revolution, during which military operations were conducted in the Ohio country.

Jody Victor

Jody Victor : Today, the Ohio river generally separates Midwestern Great Lakes states from Southern border states. The charter for Virginia went not to the middle of the Ohio River but to its far shore, so that the entire river was included in the lands owned by Virginia. Therefore, where the river serves as a boundary between states the entire river belongs to the states on the east and then the south, i.e., West Virginia and Kentucky, that were divided from Virginia. It is for that reason that Wheeling Island, the largest inhabited island in the Ohio River, belongs to West Virginia, even though it is much closer to the Ohio shore than to the West Virginia shore.

Kentucky brought suit against Indiana in the early 1980s because of the building of the Marble Hill nuclear power plant in Indiana, which would have discharged its waste water into the river. The U.S. Supreme Court held that Kentucky's jurisdiction (and, implicitly, that of West Virginia) extended only to the low water mark of 1793 (important because the river has been extensively dammed for navigation, so that the present river bank is north of the old low water mark). Similarly in the 1990s, Kentucky disputed Illinois" right to collect taxes on a riverboat casino docked in Metropolis, citing their control of the entire river. Aztar opened their own casino riverboat that docked in Evansville, Indiana at about the same time. Although cruises on the Ohio river were at first done in an oval pattern up and down the Ohio, the state of Kentucky soon protested and cruises were limited to going forwards then reversing and going backwards on the Indiana shore only.

In the early 1980s, the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area was established at Clarksville, Indiana. In 2006, Cincinnati, Ohio, Indie rock band Nevada Smith published a bootleg version of their song "Il Fiume Fluisce Colore Maronne," a humorous protest song against the pollution in the Ohio. In 1993, Louisville band Love Jones released a song about recreational life on the Ohio River called "Ohio River".

Jody Victor

Jody Victor : Louisville, Kentucky was founded at the only major natural navigational barrier on the river, the Falls of the Ohio. The Falls were a series of rapids where the river dropped 26 feet in a stretch of about 2 miles. In this area the river flowed over hard, fossil-rich beds of limestone. The first locks on the river were built at Louisville in 1825 to circumnavigate the falls. Today it is the site of McAlpine Locks and Dam.

Because the Ohio River flowed westwardly, it became the convenient means of westward movement by pioneers traveling from western Pennsylvania. After reaching the mouth of the Ohio, settlers would travel north on the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Missouri. There, some continued on up the Missouri River, some up the Mississippi, and some further west over land routes. In the early 19th century, pirates, such as Samuel Mason, settled at Cave-In-Rock, Illinois, waylaid travelers on their way down the river, killed them, stole their goods, and scuttled their boats. The folktales of Mike Fink recall the keel boats used for commerce in the early days of European settlement. In 1843 the Ohio River boatmen were the inspiration for Dan Emmett's The Boatman's Dance.

Other boats traveled south on the Mississippi to New Orleans and sometimes beyond to the Gulf of Mexico and other ports in the Americas and Europe. This provided a mush needed route for goods from the west, since the trek east over the Appalachian Mountains was long and arduous. The need for access to the port of New Orleans by settlers in the Ohio Valley led to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

Because it is the Southern border of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, the Ohio River was a part of the border that divided free states and slave states in the years before the American Civil War. The expression "sold down the river" originated as a lament of Kentucky slaves being split apart from their families and sold in Louisville and other Kentucky locations to be shipped via the Ohio River down to New Orleans to be sold yet again to owners of cotton and sugar field plantations. Before and during the Civil War, the Ohio River was called the "River Jordan" by slaves escaping to freedom in the North via the Underground Railroad. As depicted in several novels by Harriet Beecher Stowe and Toni Morrison. More routes, and more escaping slaves made their perilous journey north to freedom across the Ohio River, than anywhere else across the north-south frontier. Today, the Ohio river generally separates Midwestern Great Lakes states from Southern border states.

Jody Victor

Jody Victor : Since it was considered by pre-Columbian inhabitants of eastern North America to be part of a single river continuing on through the lower Mississippi, it is perhaps an understatement to characterize the Ohio as a mere tributary of the Mississippi. The river is 981 miles long and carries the largest volume of water of any tributary of the Mississippi. The Indians and early explorers and settlers of the region often considered the Allegheny to be part of the Ohio, and the forks (the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers at what is now Pittsburgh) was considered a strategic military location.

Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, led an expedition of French traders who became the first Europeans to find the river in 1669. He traveled from Canada and entered the headwaters of the Ohio, traveling as far as the Falls of Ohio before turning back. He returned to explore the river again in other expeditions and an Italian cartographer traveling with him created the first map of the Ohio River. France claimed ownership of the River until it was ceded to Great Britain.

On May 19, 1749, King George II of Great Britain granted the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks. Exploration of the territory and trade with the Indians in the region near the Forks by British colonials from both Pennsylvania and Virginia - both of whom claimed the territory - led to conflict with French forces that also claimed the region and had built forts along the Allegheny River. This directly led to the French and Indian War in North America. The conflict - the Seven Years' War between England and France. After several initial defeats, the British eventually gained sovereignty over the Ohio Valley.

In 1774, the Quebec Act restored the land east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River to Quebec, appeasing the French-speaking British subjects, but angering the 13 Colonies. They listed it as one of the Intolerable Acts, which precipitated the American Revolution.

Jody Victor

Jody Victor : The Ohio River is young from a geologic standpoint. The river formed on a peicemeal basis beginning between 2.5 and 3 million years ago. The earliest Ice Ages occurred at this time and dammed portions of north flowing rivers. The Teays River was the largest of these rivers, and the modern Ohio River flows within segments of the ancient Teays. The ancient rivers were rearranged or consumed by glaciers and lakes.

The upper Ohio River formed when one of the glacial lakes overflowed into a south flowing tributary of the Teays River. Prior to that event, the north flowing Steubenville River (no Longer in existence) ended between New Martinsville and Paden City, West Virginia. Likewise, the south flowing Marietta River (no longer in existence) ended between the cities. The overflowing lake carved through the separating hill and connected the rivers. The resulting floodwaters enlarged the small Marietta valley to a size more typical of a large river. The new large river subsequently drained glacial lakes and melting glaciers at the end of several Ice Ages. The valley grew with each major Ice Age.

Many small river were altered or abandoned after the upper Ohio River formed. Valleys of some abandoned rivers can still be seen on satellite and aerial images of the hills of Ohio and West Virginia between Marietta, Ohio, and Huntington, West Virginia. As testimony to the major changes that occurred, the valleys are actually found on hilltops.

The middle Ohio River formed in a manner similar to formation of the upper Ohio River. A north-flowing river was temporarily dammed southwest of present-day Louisville, Kentucky, creating a large lake until the dam burst. A new route was carved to the Mississippi River, and eventually the upper and middle sections combined to form what is essentially the modern Ohio River.

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: The Ohio River is formed by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela river at Point State Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From Pittsburgh, it flows northwest through Allegheny and Beaver Counties, before making an abrupt turn to the south-southwest at the West Virginia - Ohio - Pennsylvania triple state line (near East Liverpool, Ohio, Chester, West Virginia, and Midland, Pennsylvania), from which point it forms the border between West Virginia and Ohio, upstream of Wheeling, West Virgina.

The river then follows a roughly southwest and then west-northwest course before bending to a west-southwest course for most of its length. It flows along the borders of West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, until it joins the Mississippi near the city of Cairo, Illinois.

Major tributaries of the Ohio River, indicated by the location of their mouth, include:

* Allegheny River - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

* Kinniconick Creek - Vanceburg, Kentucky

* Monongahela River - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

* Chartiers Creek - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

* Beaver River - Rochester, Pennsylvania

* Wheeling Creek - Wheeling, West Virginia

* Little Muskingum River - Ohio

* Duck Creek - Ohio

* Muskingum River - Marietta, Ohio

* Little Kanawha River - Parkersburg, West Virginia

* Hocking River - Hockingport, Ohio

* Kanawha River - Point Pleasant, West Virginia

* Guyandotte River - Huntington, West Virginia

* Big Sandy River - Kentucky-West Virginia border

* Little Sandy River - Greenup, Kentucky

* Scioto River - Portsmouth, Ohio

* Little Miami River - Cincinnati, Ohio

* Licking River - Newport-Covington, Kentucky

* Great Miami River - Ohio-Indiana border

* Salt River - West Point, Kentucky

* Kentucky River - Carrollton, Kentucky

* Green River - Kentucky

* Wabash River - Indiana-Illinois border

* Saline River - Illinois

* Cumberland River - Smithland, Kentucky

* Tennessee River - Paducah, Kentucky

* Cache River - Illinois

Jody Victor

Jody Victor : The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. It is approximately 981 miles (1,579km) long and is located in the eastern United States.

The river had great significance in the history of the Native Americans. It was a primary transportation route during the westward expansion of the early U.S. It flows through or along the border of six states, and its drainage basin encompasses 14 states, including many of the states of the southeastern U.S. through its largest tributary, the Tennessee River. During the nineteenth century, it was the southern boundary of the Northwest Territory, this serving as the border between free and slave territory. It is sometimes referred to as the "Mason-Dixon line" as it is commonly acknowledged as the western natural extension of the original Mason-Dixon line that divided Pennsylvania and Delaware from Maryland and West Virginia (then a part of Virginia) thus being the unofficial, and at times disputed, border between the Northern United States and the American South or upland South.

The Ohio River is a climatic transition area as its water runs along the periphery of the humid subtropical climate and humid continental climate thereby being inhabited by fauna and flora of both climates. In his Notes on the State of Virginia published in 1781-82, Thomas Jefferson stated: "The Ohio is the most beautiful river on earth. Its current gentle, waters clear, and bosom smooth and unbroken by rocks and rapids, a single instance only excepted."

Jody Victor

Jody Victor : Earth Day and Earth Week reminded me of times past when we did not take care of our environment. One of those ignored areas was the Cuyahoga River. This is what happened.

On June 22, 1969, an oil slick and debris in the Cuyahoga River caught fire in Cleveland, Ohio, drawing national attention to environmental problems in Ohio and elsewhere in the United States.

This Cuyahoga River fire lasted just thirty minutes, but it did approximately fifty thousand dollars in damage - principally to some railroad bridges spanning the river. It is unclear what caused the fire, but most people believe sparks from a passing train ignited an oil slick in the Cuyahoga River. This was not the first time that the river had caught on fire. Fires occurred on the Cuyahoga River in 1868m 1887, 1912, 1922, 1936, 1941, 1948, and in 1952. The 1952 fire caused over 1.5 million dollars in damage.

On August 1, 1969, Time magazine reported on the fire and on the condition of the Cuyahoga River. The magazine stated,

Some River! Chocolate-brown, oily, bubbling with subsurface gases, it oozes rather than flows. The Federal Water Pollution Control Administration dryly notes: "The lower Cuyahoga has no visible signs of life, not even low forms such as leeches and sludge worms that usually thrive on wastes." It is also - literally - a fire hazard. Cleveland citizens used to grimly joke, "Anyone who falls into the Cuyahoga does not drown, they decay..."

Because of this fire, Cleveland businesses became infamous for their pollution, a legacy of the city's booming manufacturing days during the late 1800s and the early 1900s, when limited government controls existed to protect the environment. Even following World War II, Cleveland businesses, especially steel mills, routinely polluted the river. Cleveland and its residents also became the butt of jokes across the United States, despite the fact that city officials had authorized 100 million dollars to improve the Cuyahoga River's water before the fire occurred. Fortunately, the fire also brought attention to other environmental problems across the country, helped spur the Environmental Movement, and helped lead to the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972.

Since the infamous fire, the Cuyahoga River has come a long way. It is now, clean and usable. In 2006 Bald Eagles had established at least two nesting sites within the AoC, including a new nest along the Cuyahoga River mainstream between Akron and Cleveland in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: Today, the idea of a coffee house usually brings to mind a cozy place that serves gourmet coffee and espresso drinks, with couches to lounge in while you sip. So how did the coffee house get its start?

The first record of a public place serving coffee dates back to 1475. Kiva Han was the name of the first coffee shop, located in the Turkish city of Constantinople (now Istanbul). Coffee was such an important item during that time period, that it was legal in Turkey for a woman to divorce her husband if he could not supply her with enough coffee. Turkish coffee was served strong, black and unfiltered, usually brewed in an ibrik.

The idea of doctoring up one's coffee with cream and sweeteners, came into fashion in Europe around 1529, when the first coffee house in Europe was established. Vienna was invaded by the Turkish army, who left many bags of coffee behind when they fled the city. Franz Georg Kolschitzky claimed the coffee as the spoils of war, and opened a coffee house, Apparently, he had lived in Turkey and was the only person who recognized the value in the beans. He introduced the idea of filtering coffee, as well as softening the brew with milk and sugar. The beverage was quite a hit, and when coffee houses also started serving sweet pastries and other confectionery treats, their popularity exploded.

Coffee establishments continued to spread, with the first one opening up in Britain in 1652. Though its popularity was growing in Europe, the idea arrived in England again from Turkey. An English merchant who dealt in Turkish goods (such as coffee) had two of his servants leave him, to go into business for themselves. "The Turk's Head" coffee house was born.

It was in an English coffee house that the word "tips" was first used for gratuities. A jar with a sign reading, "To Insure Prompt Service" sat on the counter. You put a coin in the jar to be served quickly.

The British called their coffee houses, "penny universities" because that was the price for the coffee and the social upper-class of business-men were found there. In fact, a small coffee shop run by Edward Lloyd in 1668 was such a business hub, it eventually became the still-operating Lloyd's of London insurance company.

From there, the idea spread further through Europe. Italy in 1654 and then Paris in 1672. Germany embraced the coffee house for the first time in 1673.

When America was colonized, the coffee house was quick to follow. The role of the American coffee house was the same as those in England: the hot spots for the business community. The Tontine Coffee House (1792) in New York was the original location for the New York Stock Exchange, because so much business was conducted there.

Until now, coffee houses were serving regular coffee. Then came espresso. In 1946, Gaggia invented the commercial piston espresso machine, which was far easier to use and safer than earlier models. The Gaggia coffee bar, in Italy, was the first location to use these machines and to offer espresso along with the regular coffee. The modern age of coffee houses was born.

Of course, the age-old coffee house should not be confused with the coffee shop of recent decades. Coffee shops are really restaurants that serve a typical menu of diner food, along with basic coffee. Tim Horton's is a good example of a popular coffee shop that has somewhat transcended the basic 'diner' and though they serve a wide menu of food, they are known across the country for their excellent coffee. Even so, I wouldn't class them as a coffee house because they don't serve espresso or any espresso-based drinks.

And who could forget the most popular and wide-spread coffee house of them all, Starbucks. They opened their first store in 1971, in Seattle and have taken the world by storm with more than 8,000 locations.

Whether you prefer the wide-spread chains, or the local independent coffee house, you're taking a step into a long history of coffee each time you stop for a latte.

Jody Victor

Jody Victor®: Of all the symbols associated with Easter the egg, the symbol of fertility and new life, is the most identifiable. The customs and traditions of using eggs have been associated with Easter for centuries.

Originally Easter eggs were painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring and were used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts. After they were colored and etched with various designs the eggs were exchanged by lovers and romantic admirers, much the same as valentines. In medieval time, eggs were traditionally given at Easter to the servants. In Germany eggs were given to children along with other Easter gifts.

Different cultures have developed their own ways of decorating Easter eggs. Crimson eggs, to honor the blood of Christ, are exchanged in Greece. In parts of Germany and Austria green eggs are used on Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday). Slavic peoples decorate their eggs in special patterns of gold and silver.

Austrian artists design patterns by fastening ferns and tiny plants around the eggs, which are then boiled. The plants are then removed revealing a striking white pattern. The Poles and Ukrainians decorate eggs with simple designs and colors. A number of eggs are made in the distinctive manner called pysanki (to design, to write).

Pysanki eggs are a masterpiece of skill and workmanship. Melted beeswax is applied to the fresh white egg. It is then dipped in successive baths of dye. After each dip, wax is painted over the area where the preceding color is to remain. Eventually a complex pattern of lines and colors emerges into a work of art.

In Germany and other countries eggs used for cooking were not broken, but the contents were removed by piercing the end of each egg with a needle and blowing the contents into a bowl. The hollow eggs were dyed and hung from shrubs and trees during the Easter Week. You can see 'egg trees' in our area, now that Easter is near.

Happy Easter!

Jody Victor®

Jody Victor : What happened today, 10,20,30, 50 years ago? Here's a look back at April 2nd.

1792 - The U.S. congress authorized the first U.S. mint. Which mint was first? The one in Philadelphia, PA.

1872 - G.B. Brayton of Boston, MA received a patent for the gas-powered street car.

1889 - Charles Hall patented aluminum on this day.

1896 - Madison Square Garden in New York City hosted the season premiere of the Barnum and Bailey Circus. The circus featured a Duryea horseless carriage.

1902 - The first motion picture theater opened in Los Angeles. The Electric Theatre charged a dime to see an hour's entertainment, including the films, The Capture of the Biddle Brothers and New York in a Blizzard.

1942 - Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded American Patrol for Victor Records. The jitterbug tune became one of Miller's most requested hits.

1947 - The Big Story was first heard on NBC radio. It stayed on the air for eight years.

1954 - Carl 'Bobo' Olson defeated Kid Gavilan to retain the world middle weight boxing title.

1956 - Two very successful daytime dramas premiered. The Edge of Night and As the World Turns were seen for the first time on CBS-TV.

1963 - Best Foot Forward opened in New York City. Liza Minelli was the lead actress in this off-Broadway revival of the show which enjoyed a run of 224 performances.

1969 - The Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association signed Lew Alcindor for a reported $1,400,000 five-year contract. Alcindor soon changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabar and his team to the Los Angeles Lakers.

1972 - Actor Burt Reynolds appeared nude in Cosmopolitan magazine. This issue of Cosmo became an instant collector's item and an additional 700,000 copies had to be printed.

1978 - J.R. Ewing and the clan arrived at Southfork, when Dallas was seen for the first time on CBS-TV. The show became an enormously popular hit and was the talk of many people around the water cooler each Monday morning.

1984 - John Thompson became the first black coach to lead his team to the NCAA college basketball championship. Georgetown's Hoyas defeated Houston 84-75 in Seattle for the win. Thompson's team in 1982 had finished second to North Carolina for the championship.

1985 - The NCAA Rules Committee adopted the 45-second shot clock for men's basketball, the begin in the 1986 season. It was an effort to thwart the end-of-game stalls that kept opposing teams from scoring in close contests.

1987 - Drivers were back in the fast lane as states began to post the speed limit on interstate highways in limited areas to 65 miles per hour. Watch the signs, please. Radar ahead.

Jody Victor

Jody Victor : We are happy to say "Spring has Sprung!" In Northeast Ohio it has been a wonderful beginning to a hopefully fine-weathered season. But it is Ohio, and the weather will change.

Spring is one of the four seasons of temperate zones. Astronomically, it begins with the spring equinox (around March 21 in the Northern Hemisphere, and September 23 in the Southern Hemisphere), and ends with the summer solstice (around June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere and December 21 in the Southern Hemisphere). In meteorology, it is by convention instead counted as the whole months of March, April, and May in the Northern Hemisphere and September, October, and November in the Southern Hemisphere. However, in the Irish Calendar it is counted as the whole months of February, March and April.

Severe weather most often occurs during the spring, when warm air begins to invade from lower latitudes while cold air is still pushing from the polar regions. Flooding is also most common in and near mountainous areas during this time of year due to snow melt, many times accelerated by warm rains. In the united States, Tornado Alley is most active by far this time of year, especially since the Rocky Mountains prevent the surging hot and cold air masses from spreading westward and instead force them directly at each other. Besides tornadoes, super cell thunderstorms can also produce dangerously large hail and very high winds, for which a severe thunderstorm warning or even tornado warning is usually issued. Often, spring storms trigger dozens of warnings, one right after the other, often simultaneously along a line hundreds of miles or kilometers long. Even more so than winter, the jet streams play an important role in severe weather in the springtime.

Some of the worst blizzards have occurred in the spring, including the Great Blizzard of 1993, which brought hurricane conditions and then light snow to northern Florida on March 13, and deposited up to five feet of snow in parts of the Appalachian Mountains. A massive springtime "upslope" winter storm in 2003 brought up to eleven feet of snow to parts of Colorado and three feet to Denver, which gets more snow in March and April (and again in October and November) than during the entire winter (December to February).

Hurricane season also begins in late spring, on May 15 in the northeastern Pacific and June 1 in the northern Atlantic. Prior to these dates, hurricanes are almost unheard of and even tropical storms are exceedingly rare, one of the earliest ever being Tropical Storm Ana in mid-April 2003.

Jody Victor