Vernal equinox 2024 explains why spring feels so early (2024)

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Vernal equinox 2024 explains why spring feels so early? ›

That's because the spring equinox is arriving a day or two early this year, according to OMSI's director of space science education. For the past century, the equinox has typically taken place on March 20 or 21. But in 2024, the equinox is scheduled for March 19 thanks to the leap year.

The reason the first day of spring was March 19 was because 2024 is a leap year. Leap years are caused by Earth's rotation. A year is 365 days, but technically it takes the Earth slightly longer to orbit around the sun.

For ease of recordkeeping, meteorologists and climatologists consider March 1 the first day of spring, but astronomically speaking, the Earth's equator is aligned directly with the Sun on the vernal equinox. In 2024, that occurs March 19 at 11:06 p.m. EDT.

And in 2024 the January and February global surface temperatures were the warmest for those months in all of the instrumental era. It's this additional heat in Earth's atmosphere and oceans that helps to bring about an early spring—and you don't have to be a scientist to recognize the signs.

The start of astronomical spring, known as the vernal equinox, occurred yesterday, March 19, 2024, at 11:06 p.m. EDT. During equinoxes, which happen twice a year, the Earth's axis is not tilted toward or away from the sun, resulting in nearly equal periods of daylight and darkness worldwide.

March 21, 2024, is the Spring Equinox, a celestial event celebrated by many pagan cultures. Modern-day Pagan and Wiccan practitioners refer to the day as Ostara, the vernal equinox, and the start of spring.

There are two factors behind why the vernal equinox occurs as early as it does in 2024. The first is the February 29 'Leap Day' that was added to our calendar this year. Our calendar usually counts out a total of 365 days. However, once every four years, we add an extra day.

April 2024 Highlights

Overall, April temperatures will be warmer than normal from New England to Florida and westward across the Deep South into Texas, as well as north and west of the Pacific coast and in much of Alaska and eastern Hawaii. Elsewhere, temperatures will be near to below normal.

Hausfather estimates a 66% chance that 2024 will be the hottest year on record, and a 99% chance it will be the second hottest. The current best estimate is it will come in at just above 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, he said.

Spring officially begins in the Northern Hemisphere on March 19 with the vernal equinox as the entire world experiences an equal amount of daylight and darkness.

Can spring actually come early? ›

Why is spring so early? The arrival of spring-like weather may not be here to stay, but the official calendar season is earlier than it's been in anyone's lifetime. Typically, the Equinox falls on March 20 or 21, but this year it's on the 19 because it's a Leap Year.

Persistent and sometimes unprecedented warmth has driven an early onset of the season, a common theme in recent years because of human-caused climate change.

We often get a “false spring” in January or February, but we try to resist this Mother Nature's temptation. We typically start getting our early spring plants — ones that can withstand some cold — the first week of March, and we often see frost in May, so “early spring” usually runs from March into May.

The March equinox marks when the Northern Hemisphere starts to tilt toward the sun, which means longer, sunnier days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the March equinox is called the vernal equinox, because it signals the beginning of spring (vernal means fresh or new like the spring).

The spring equinox, or Ostara, is also called the vernal equinox and has long been celebrated as a time of renewal, rebirth, and new beginnings.

If you do, and your sweetheart asks where such a word comes from, you can further impress by saying, "'Vernal,' my dear, comes from the Latin 'vernalis,' which is derived from the Latin word for spring, 'ver. '"

In the northern hemisphere, the spring equinox for 2024 falls on Wednesday, 20 March. While meteorological spring commenced on 1 March, the spring equinox signifies the onset of astronomical spring, occurring at precisely 3:06 AM GMT.

At higher latitudes in the northern hemisphere, the date of equal day and night occurs before the March equinox. Daytime continues to be longer than nighttime until after the September equinox. In the southern hemisphere, the dates of equal day and night occur before the September equinox and after the March equinox.

The vernal equinox marks the beginning of astronomical spring and occurs in the Northern Hemisphere around March 20th, whereas the autumnal equinox falls around September 22nd.

Astronomically speaking, the first day of spring is marked by the spring equinox, which falls on March 19, 20, or 21. The equinox happens at the exact moment worldwide, although our clock times reflect a different time zone.