Spring is here . . . with gray skies and rain

The sunshine from the weekend will not carry into the work week Monday -- the first full day of spring.

Any snow flurries or sleet that may have snuck into the cold air this morning will change  to rain, which will stick around through the midafternoon before skies clear out this evening. total rainfall is expected to be around a quarter of an inch.

Highs will approach 50 away from the water, but towns close to the ocean will feel cooler with a south wind of 10 to 15 mph. Lows Monday night will be in the mid- to upper-30s.

Record highs and lows for March 21:
63 (1979), 17 (1986) at Kennedy Airport
71 (1986), 19 (1993) at Long Island MacArthur Airport
57 (2010), 24 (2004) at Republic Airport
54 (2003), 15 (2009) at Gabreski Airport

This Day in Weather History
1990. The first full day of spring was a cold one for the eastern United States. Freezing temperatures damaged 62 percent of the peach crop in upstate South Carolina, and 72 percent of the peach crop in the ridge area of South Carolina. Elkins, W. Va., which a week earlier reported a record high of 82 degrees, was the cold spot in the nation with a morning low of 16 degrees.

Geoffrey Bansen, a recent graduate of Stony Brook University, has a degree in atmospheric science/meteorology.