Happy Days – It’s Spring Again!

BY THE NUMBERS

By The Numbers, a look at what’s in the news . . . by the numbers. These are just numbers, not suggestions that they mean more or less than what they are. We do not suggest that one number is connected to another. These are simply facts with no extraneous details, bias or slanted reporting. To borrow (and perhaps mangle a bit) a quote from legendary fictional detective Joe Friday, it’s just the numbers, ma’am!

OK, so we’re a day late (well, maybe three) and as usual, a dollar short. But some of us are so happy to see Old Man Winter in the rearview that we just had to celebrate the arrival of spring . . . by the numbers.

171,000,000

That’s the approximate number of travelers hitting the roads and open skies (if they can ever get through TSA long lines at the airport). According to the scary faceless AI expert, about 50 million of those are students on spring break.

$820 to $1,500

The per person cost for an average domestic flight and sea cruise, respectively.

30,000

A spring tradition – the Boston Marathon – is expected to draw about 30,000 runners. (And a month later, about 35,000 are expected for the Indy Mini-Marathon! Hoosiers take a backseat to no one!)

54

That’s the average high temperature on March 20 in Indiana. The average low is 35. The record high for was 83 and was set just a few years ago in 2012. The low was a frigid 12 degrees back in 1965.

83

On the first day of summer, June 21, we can expect an average high in the low 80s. The average low is 64. The high-low records are 101 in 1988 and 41.

5

The top five states for spring break travel are (you know the first one) Florida, followed by California, Texas, Hawaii and Nevada.

1

The number one spot searched online for a possible spring break destination by Hoosier students is Destin, Fla.

93

The number of days from March 20 to the first day of summer, June 21.

65-110

We all know that spring features an increased awareness of tornadoes. While violent EF4 and EF5 tornadoes can have wind speeds of 200 to 300 mph, more common in Indiana are weaker EF0 and EF1 storms with wind speeds between 65 and 110.

20

That’s the average number of tornadoes we get in Indiana each year – and they can occur any time. So yes, it’s spring. But we should always be vigilant.