It might feel like the first day of fall when your favorite coffee shop starts selling pumpkin-flavored lattes and apple cider doughnuts, but that’s just wishful thinking. Fall officially starts when the autumn equinox arrives.
This year, fall begins on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, in the United States and everywhere else in the northern hemisphere. The autumn equinox — also known as the autumnal equinox, the fall equinox or the September equinox — occurs when the sun moves directly over the Earth’s equator, bringing virtually the same amount of daylight and darkness on that particular day.
So, the Earth’s tilt and the sun’s position is responsible for the season that’s associated with pumpkins, scarecrows, hay rides, apple cider, colorful foliage and Halloween. It also results in shorter days and cooler temperatures — like the chill we’re feeling in New Jersey this weekend.
Yep, it’s time to dig out those sweaters and extra blankets.
The fall season of 2020 is starting soon. Time for pumpkin picking, hay rides, scarecrows and Halloween.Len Melisurgo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
When does fall officially start?
While most people consider Sept. 22 to be the first official day of the fall season — and sometimes Sept. 23, like last year — weather forecasters consider Sept. 1 the start of autumn, based on annual temperature cycles.
Meteorologists and climatologists break the year up into four “meteorological seasons,” each of which lasts for three full months and begins on the first day of the month: Sept. 1 for autumn; Dec. 1 for winter; March 1 for spring, and June 1 for summer.
What is an equinox?
The word equinox was derived from two Latin words — “aequus” (the Latin prefix for “equal”) and “nox” (the Latin word for “night”). The equal refers to the nearly equal amount of daylight minutes and darkness minutes on this day — about 12 hours of each.
An equinox occurs because of the position of the Earth’s axis.
Vox.com explains it this way: “The fall and spring equinoxes, the seasons, and the changing length of daylight hours throughout the year are all due to one fact: Earth spins on a tilted axis. The tilt — possibly caused by a massive object hitting Earth billions of years ago — means that for half the year, the North Pole is pointed toward the sun. For the other half of the year, the South Pole gets more light. It’s why we have seasons.”
Kids may have to wear face masks this year when they go pumpkin picking. But autumn is almost here.SL
When does Daylight Saving Time end?
Daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday of March (which was March 8 this year) and ends on the first Sunday of November (which is Sunday, Nov. 1 in 2020). The autumn switch in clocks — pushing the time back by one hour — does not coincide with the autumn equinox, even though most people refer to the “fall back” in time.
When the switch occurs in November, it’s called Eastern Standard Time, or EST, in part of North America.
Note: This article originally was published on Sept. 21, 2019, and the dates and times have been updated for 2020.
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com.
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When is the first day of fall 2020? Get ready for the autumn equinox, and sweater weather. - NJ.com
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