It might not feel like it yet, but spring is on the way.
Sunday, March 20, marks the arrival of the spring equinox, bringing the first day of astronomical spring to the Northern Hemisphere. Daylight hours will continue to grow longer through spring, peaking with the summer solstice in June.
Meteorological spring always starts on March 1.
What happens during the spring equinox?
Seasons are caused by the Earth’s tilt and rotation, which is on an average 23.5 degree tilted axis.
As the Earth orbits elliptically around the sun, it is at its closest point in January and the farthest in July. Near the summer solstice, which typically occurs around June 21, the Northern Hemisphere is in a more direct path of the sun’s energy, producing long days and shorter nights.
The Earth is at the vernal, or spring, equinox on March 20 this year.
According to the National Weather Service, as the Earth revolves around the sun, it “gets positioned such that the sun is directly over the equator. Basically, the sun’s energy is in balance between the northern and southern hemispheres.”
Seasons are opposite in the Southern Hemisphere. As the spring equinox approaches, the Southern Hemisphere will prepare for fall and shorter days, and move into winter as the Northern Hemisphere moves into summer.
What does ‘equinox’ mean?
The word “equinox” comes from Latin aequus, meaning “equal,” and nox, “night.” On the autumnal (and the spring) equinox, day and night are roughly equal in length.
What exact time is the spring equinox?
The spring equinox happens around the Northern Hemisphere at exactly the same time: 11:33 a.m., according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
When will spring weather start this year?
We’ve had a few warm days around Cincinnati, but we’re not out of the woods with wintry weather quite yet. Snow and a wintry mix is expected this Friday into Saturday, with some snow accumulation likely, although the details on specific amounts for locations are still uncertain.
The long-range weather forecast for the Ohio Valley from the Old Farmers’ Almanac predicts the region will have rainy periods and mild weather by the first day of spring, then rain to snow at the end of March before the weather turning warm by the beginning of April.
It predicts March’s average temperature to be 50 degrees and April’s average temperature to be 62 degrees.
When do we ‘spring forward’?
Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. March 13, so you’ll need to set your clocks ahead one hour to 3 a.m. and we will lose an hour of sleep.
