Today is the September Equinox…the first day of autumn in the northern hemisphere and the first day of spring in the southern hemisphere.  It is also the first day of my new blog about  all things weather.

Autumn officially began at 9:04 UTC this morning, that is 5:04 AM here in New York.

Seasons are the result of the tilt of the Earth’s axis, a 23.5 degree angle.  If we did not have a tilt, we would not have seasons.  Today, as autumn begins, the Earth’s axis of rotation is neither tilted toward nor away from the sun.  Our equator and the sun are more or less perpendicular.  This position gives us approximately equal hours of day and night. This is where the term equinox comes from.  It is Latin for “equal night”.

As the days get shorter and the temperatures get cooler, we should see the leaves changing color soon.

Photo Credit: NASA