5 Things You Need To Know Today: March 20

1. Today is the first day of spring.

It officially begins at 12:57 p.m. Weather forecasters say those of us in MetroWest and Framingham could see temperatures in the 50s today.

And you may not want to read this but the Farmer's Almanac says "Spring will start late and be exceptionally wet for most sections of the country, with snowfall predicted through late March and early April in many areas, including an East Coast storm in mid-April that could bring a very late-season snow to high-terrain areas of New England. ... In the Northeast, the opening days will be greeted with plenty of rain, snow, and cold temperatures. An unseasonably warm patch in mid-April will provide an early taste of spring, but will be short-lived, as a late-season snowstorm follows right on its heels. Cold temperatures will persist through early May."

2. Framingham Town Wide PTO (TWPTO)  is hosting a Candidates Forum tomorrow, March 20 at Framingham High in the small auditorium H-100 from 7-9 p.m. Attending are all five candidates for Framingham Board of Selectman and two of three candidates for School Committee. The town election is scheduled for Tuesday, April 1.

3. The Framingham Public Library's Lifelong Learning Lecture Series welcomes Dr. Carol Troyen, curator emerita of the American Paintings at the MFA - Boston tonight to the main Framingham Library for a free lecture at 7. She curated the Edward Hopper 2007 exhibition at the MFA and will speak about Hopper’s paintings and about the stories the paintings reveal about the era. The Lifelong Learning Series is a collaboration between the Library and Framingham State University.

4. St. Bridget Middle School students celebrated National Pi Day (March 14) by collecting canned food for the Saint Bridget parish food pantry. The students also studied the surface area of the cans, wrote Pi-etry, made posters and even ate a slice of pie.

5.  In Case You Missed It: Motorists should be aware of traffic impacts stemming from four weekend lane restrictions on the Massachusetts Turnpike that support the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority’s project to remove the ceiling of the Prudential Tunnel. The first weekend of these restrictions starts Friday, March 21. Click here for more details.