Spring Equinox is Tonight

Chattanooga (WDEF) – The vernal equinox, commonly called the spring equinox, occurs Sunday, March 20 at 12:30 am EDT this year. At the equinox, the suns rays are perpendicular to the Earth’s equator; the Earth is tilting neither toward nor away from the Earth.

‘Equinox’ comes from Latin, meaning ‘equal night’. However, because Chattanooga sits at 35° North latitude, we won’t see equal day and night on Sunday. We had equal night (12 hours of daylight, 12 hours of night time) on March 16. Sunday will feature 12 hours and 9 minutes of daylight.

The equinox marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere (and fall in the Southern Hemisphere) according to astronomical seasons which are based on the equinoxes and solstices.

Equinoxes vary from year to year but always occur between March 19 and 21. This year’s spring equinox is the earliest since 1896.

However, ask a meteorologist when spring starts and you’ll always get the same answer – March 1. Meteorologists define seasons by months according to the temperature cycle: the coldest three months making up winter (December, January, February), the warmest months making up summer (June, July, August), leaving spring to be March, April, May and fall to be September, October, November.

So despite the chilly forecast, by Sunday afternoon it will be spring to everyone! Happy Spring!