Texas ranks 41st in the country for girls' physical, academic and emotional well-being, per a new report from the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas.

Why it matters: The findings point to a gender gap between boys and girls that only widens in adulthood, the organization says.

Stunning stats: Nationally, the number of girls who report feeling persistently sad or hopeless is nearly double that of boys, the report says.

• The report found that only 8% of girls in Texas get at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day, putting the state in last place for physical activity compared with other states.
• Meanwhile, 76% of girls report watching TV or playing video games for over three hours a day.
• The report highlights critical needs among girls that educators, parents and community organizations should all be working to address, says Ashley Crowe, CEO of Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, which covers 32 counties including Dallas, Collin and Denton.

Between the lines: Long screen time, societal pressure to be perfect, relatively low funding for programs that cater to girls and a shortage of safe spaces outside school just for girls could account for the findings, according to speakers at an event this week unveiling the report.

Case in point: Kaitlyn Porter, a Girl Scout and high school senior from Mansfield, said at the event that she often sees boys having more "carefree fun" than the girls around her.

• "There's a lack of screen-free environments, communities and third spaces that adolescent girls feel comfortable existing in, in general," Porter said.

The upside: Texas ranks second in the country for girls' graduation rates, per the report, which analyzed government surveys, federal education and health data and surveys of parents and girls in North Texas.

The bottom line: "This community needs to take a second look at what we're doing for our girls. They are getting missed. Things are happening to them, and at them, and for them that are not healthy for them," Crowe says.

What Dallas Trinity FC is doing

Within a week of Punxsutawney Phil predicting we would get six more weeks of winter, everyone was wearing shorts in Dallas.

The big picture: Phil was partially correct, depending on where you live, NOAA Weather Prediction Center meteorologist Deirdre Dolan tells Axios.

• The northeast was "anomalously cold" but elsewhere in the U.S. — like in Texas — it was hotter than normal.

Zoom in: In Dallas-Fort Worth, winter felt effectively over even before Phil checked for his shadow.

• The region has recorded warmer-than-usual weather for both February and March.
• March's daily average of 67.6 degrees was 9.4 degrees above normal. The February daily average of 59.1 was 8.6 degrees above normal, according to the National Weather Service.

By the numbers: March recorded two days with a high above 90 degrees, with March 22 reaching 95.

• Only four days recorded a high cooler than 70, and most days reached temperatures over 80.
• February, which featured wild temperature swings, only recorded eight days with a high cooler than 70.

Zoom out: Cleveland, New York City, Orlando and Bangor, Maine, had colder-than-average February temperatures. New York also saw 12 more inches of snow than usual in February.

• But regions west of the Mississippi River saw much warmer February temperatures than normal, according to NOAA.

Reality check: Punxsutawney Phil's historical accuracy is about 35%, according to NOAA.

What's next: Temperatures are expected to remain warmer in much of the U.S. in April, per NOAA's Spring Outlook.

• And drought conditions across Texas are expected to continue.

🖼️ Appreciate the arts. Dallas Arts Month began yesterday and will have live music, plays, dance lessons and sensory friendly activities all month.

• This weekend's events include volunteer matching, Latin music in Oak Cliff and contemporary ballet.

🦋 Let your heart flutter. Butterflies from different parts of the world are zipping around the Fort Worth Botanic Garden this month for this exhibit.

• 10am-4pm through April 30 at the garden's rainforest conservatory. Adult tickets start at $14.

🧺 Fill your basket. Head to Frisco this weekend for Easter activites with the family.

• Saturday at PGA Frisco for a ticketed egg hunt and Sunday at Omni PGA Frisco for a ticketed brunch.

🗡️ Bask in the past. Learn about armored combat on horseback, Renaissance-era justice and meet Jacques Ze Whipper at this year's Scarborough Renaissance Festival.

• Opens Saturday in Waxahachie. $37 for general admission adult tickets.

🤑 AI-aligned super PACs have poured millions of dollars into Texas congressional races, including in Dallas County. (Texas Tribune)

⚡️ The Fort Worth City Council approved a rezoning of the city's 113-year-old TXU North Main power plant to protect the building against demolition in the future. (Fort Worth Report)

🇮🇶 A man walked through a sign held by Iraqi soccer fans at DFW Airport and got into a profanity-filled argument with the group, per a video on social media. (WFAA)

Artemis II lifted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center yesterday, becoming NASA's first mission to return astronauts to lunar orbit since the Apollo era.

The intrigue: Three Americans and one Canadian are on board the 322-foot-tall rocket for a 10-day flyby of the moon.

• You can keep up with their trip here.

What's next: NASA eventually hopes to return to the Moon annually, if not more often, with the ambitious goal of establishing a lunar base.