The first day of spring is today, Tuesday, March 19, 2024. It officially arrives at 11:06 p.m. This is marked by the arrival of the Vernal Equinox.
Traditionally, we celebrate the first day of spring on March 21, but astronomers and calendar manufacturers alike now say that the spring season starts on March 20, in all time zones in North America. In 2020, spring fell on March 19, the earliest first day of spring in 124 years!
Regardless of what the weather is doing outside, (today was chilly and windy) spring equinox marks the official start of the spring season.
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, Vernal translates to “new” and “fresh,” and equinox is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night).
So what does that mean? Essentially, our hours of daylight—the time each day between sunrise and sunset—have been growing slightly longer each day since the winter solstice in December, which is the shortest day of the year (at least in terms of light).
The vernal equinox marks the turning point when daylight begins to win out over darkness.
Colder temperatures are in the forecast, but when the weather finally warms enough for us to start planting our gardens and enjoying the longer days outside, we will truly be able to enjoy the spring season.