Treasure Valley residents woke up to damp streets and moist air Wednesday morning as spring 2013 finally arrived in Idaho.

The vernal equinox occurred at 7:02 a.m., which means the day and night are about equal everywhere today, and the sun rises in due east and sets in due west, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.

This year, spring brought some much needed rain to Southwest Idaho. The National Weather Service measured 0.20 inches of rain at the Boise Airport as of 8 a.m. Wednesday. That doesn’t sound like much, and it isn’t, but any will help at this point.

The average amount of rainfall between Jan. 1 and March 20 in the Boise area is 3.06 inches. The total for 2013 is 2.06 inches of rain, counting Tuesday’s precipitation. By contrast, Boise had 4.73 inches of rain during that same time period last year, according to National Weather Service reports.

The entire region could use more precipitation to make sure the snowpack is good in the mountains for spring runoff, meteorologist Colin Baxter said.

The good news for that is rain is expected to last through Wednesday, with possibility of a thunderstorm later in afternoon, according to National Weather Service reports.

A cold front is expected to move through the Treasure Valley Wednesday night that will bring colder air and keep temperatures in the 40s for the next several days. The estimated high temperatures in Boise for the next four days are 47, 43, 45, and 48. The normal high temps for those days is 56 degrees.

There may even be a little snowfall on the valley floor when people wake up on Friday morning. It won’t last, but it is a good reminder how volatile spring weather can be.

The good news is that the mountains of southwest and central Idaho will likely get some snow this week, Baxter said.