The science behind Leap Years
Hey everybody! Let’s talk about something a little different from our usual forecasts: leap year.
So, what exactly is a leap year? Well, it’s a year that has an extra day added to the end of February, making it 366 days long instead of the usual 365. This extra day, known as leap day, falls on February 29th.
But why do we have leap years? It’s because the Earth takes approximately 365.25 days to go around the sun once. So, without leap years, our calendar would slowly get out of sync with the seasons. To fix this, we add an extra day to the calendar almost every four years. That way, our calendar stays in line with the seasons.
However, it’s not quite as simple as adding a leap day every four years. That’s because the actual length of a year isn’t exactly 365.25 days—it’s a little bit shorter. So, to account for this, we have a rule: a year is a leap year if it is divisible by 4, but if it is also divisible by 100, it is not a leap year unless it is also divisible by 400.
This means that most years that are divisible by 4 are leap years, but not all of them. For example, the year 1900 was not a leap year, even though it’s divisible by 4, because it’s also divisible by 100 but not by 400.
Now, let’s take a look at some climate statistics for the Augusta area, spanning from 1876 to 2024.
The average high temperature during this period has been around 65 degrees. However, there have been some notable fluctuations in temperature over the years. For instance, the warmest high temperatures on record, reaching 79 degrees, were observed in 2012, 1976, 1972, 1948, and 1880.
When it comes to leap years, about 89% of them in Augusta have experienced high temperatures at or above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest leap day on record occurred in both 1884 and 2004, with temperatures plummeting to a chilly 24 degrees.
In terms of precipitation, Augusta generally experiences relatively low amounts, with an average of around 0.04 inches. However, there have been instances of heavier rainfall. The wettest leap day on record occurred in 1916, with a total precipitation of 0.58 inches. Despite the low average precipitation, about 24% of leap years have seen measurable precipitation of at least 0.01 inches.
So, while leap years may be a fascinating aspect of our calendar system, they also provide us with valuable insights into the climate patterns and weather trends in the Augusta area over time.
Do you have a weather-related topic that you would like to know the science behind? Submit your ideas to mhyatt@wjbf.com.
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