The arrival of the vernal equinox marks the beginning of astronomical spring across the Northern Hemisphere, bringing increasing amounts of daylight and warmer temperatures.
In 2026, the equinox officially takes place on Friday at 10:46 a.m. EDT, when the sun is positioned directly above Earth’s equator.
At this moment, parts of the planet experience nearly equal amounts of daylight and darkness, with roughly 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours.
From this point forward, daylight will continue to significantly increase in the Northern Hemisphere through the summer solstice.
Astronomical spring differs from meteorological spring, which is the time period used by climatologists and forecasters for seasonal recordkeeping and analysis.
Meteorological spring began on March 1 and runs through May 31, while astronomical spring began on March 20 and continues through June 21.
Astronomical seasons are based on Earth’s position relative to the sun, while meteorological seasons follow a consistent three-month calendar.
The fixed nature of the meteorological calendar allows researchers to more easily compare temperature and climate data from previous years.
No matter whether the astronomical or meteorological calendar is used, the growing daylight is noticeable, with earlier sunrises and later sunsets becoming more pronounced, with each day gaining roughly two minutes of additional sunlight.
Despite the milestone, cold air intrusions remain possible, as spring is the second-coldest season of the year due to a lag between the increasing angle of the sun’s rays and warming temperatures.
Earth’s tilt has the greatest impact on the seasons, rather than the distance between the Earth and the sun.
The globe is actually closest to the sun in early January, a point known as perihelion, while the planet is farthest from the sun in early July, which is called aphelion.
During the perihelion stage, North America typically experiences its coldest temperatures of the year, while the opposite is true during summer, when the warmest conditions occur even as the planet is the farthest from the sun.
The gradual increase of sunlight will continue until the summer solstice in June, which is the longest day of the year.
The shortest day of the year across the Northern Hemisphere occurs on the winter solstice which annually takes place on Dec. 21 or 22.
