When is the first day of fall? Everything to know about the start of the autumnal season
The sunny summer days of August are almost over, and soon enough you’ll have to take your fall wardrobe out of storage. When will the autumn season begin?
You know that fall is just around the corner when restaurants and stores start offering pumpkin spice beverages. The summer heat may still be bearing down on parts of the country, but beach season is soon coming to a close.
There are informal indicators that fall have begun, such as kids going back to school, and the celebration of Labor Day. However, there are more fixed and official days that mark the start of the season.
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When is the first day of fall? Everything to know about the start of the autumnal season
In the Northern Hemisphere, fall begins on the autumnal equinox, which usually occurs on Sept. 22 or 23 each year. In 2024, fall will begin on Sunday, Sept. 22, at 8:44 a.m. ET, per the Farmers’ Almanac. The autumnal equinox takes place at the same moment in different parts of the world.
This equinox marks the point when day and night are approximately equal in length, as the sun crosses the equator, moving southward.
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Fall lasts until the winter solstice, which happens around Dec. 21 or 22. Since the time is calculated based on the position of the sun, this particular starting point is known as astronomical fall.
There is also another way of marking the changing of the seasons, and this is called meteorological fall. This switch is defined by meteorologists based on the annual temperature cycle and the calendar, rather than astronomical events like the equinoxes. It is used for statistical and record-keeping purposes.
Unlike astronomical fall, the meteorological date doesn’t change. It always begins on Sept. 1 and ends on Nov. 30.