There has been plenty of evidence during the past month or so that winter continues to hold its grip on the Tri-State Area.

We’ve seen snow, bitter cold and freezing rain — a pretty good sampling of what winter has to offer.

And even though the region’s groundhogs offered different outlooks on what lies ahead (Punxsutawney Phil said six more weeks of winter, while Buckeye Chuck and French Creek Freddie both called for an early spring), a glance at the calendar reminds us that spring will arrive in a little more than a month — at 5:01 a.m. March 20, to be precise.

If you look to our south, say to Florida, or the west, try Arizona, though, you will find the surest indicator yet that warmer weather is not that far off. That would be the start of Major League Baseball’s spring training.

Pitchers and catchers for the Pirates are scheduled to begin workouts in Bradenton, Fla., on Wednesday, with the first full-squad workout set for Monday. It figures to be an interesting year for Pirates fans. The pitching will be solid, with a staff that features Paul Skenes, Jared Jones, David Bednar and Mitch Keller. Skenes, the top young pitcher in the game, will be looking to build on last year’s performance, which saw him earn the start in the All-Star Game and capture the National League Rookie of the Year Award. He’s considered by many the favorite to win this year’s Cy Young Award.

Our area also contains pockets of Cleveland and Cincinnati fans, and their attention will shift to Goodyear, Ariz., which serves as the training site for both teams.

Pitchers and catchers for the Reds open camp Wednesday, with the full squad due Monday, while pitchers and catchers for the Guardians report Thursday, with their full-squad workout set for Feb. 18.

It all leads up to the start of exhibition games, which for the Pirates comes Feb. 22 when they open Grapefruit League play in Sarasota, Fla., against the Orioles. They will meet Minnesota on Feb. 23 at Lecom Park in their pre-season home opener. The Indians and the Reds, meanwhile, will face each other Feb. 22 in their Cactus League opener.

Those games don’t count, but we’re sure fans will be watching them closely, looking for clues about what they will see when the regular season opens. That’s on March 27, when the Pirates visit the Marlins, Cleveland travels to Kansas City and the Reds host San Francisco.

The Pirates open their home schedule at 4:12 p.m. April 4 when the Yankees visit PNC Park, while Cleveland’s home-opener is set for 4:10 p.m. April 8 against the White Sox.

The march toward opening day is ready to begin — we hope you will sit back and take a few moments to put the worries and cares of the day behind you and start to think about the warmer and brighter days ahead while enjoying a spring training game or two.