There are two ways to categorize the seasons: astronomical and meteorological.

What You Need To Know

  • Astronomical spring begins March 20 this year

  • Meteorological spring always starts March 1

  • Astronomical seasons are tied to the position of the sun and Earth

  • Meteorological seasons are better for record-keeping

There’s the first day of spring that we all know, the spring equinox. This is astronomically based and is when the sun’s direct rays cross the equator. The spring equinox, also known as the first day of astronomical spring, arrives on March 20 at 5:37 a.m. this year.

Astronomical spring continues until the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The last day of astronomical spring this year is June 19.

Astronomical seasons are not based on anything weatherwise, but rather the position of Earth as it travels around the sun.

Another way to categorize the seasons is by using the weather that we correlate more with that season. We call these the meteorological seasons. For example, it’s now spring – meteorological spring, that is.

Meteorological spring begins on March 1 and ends May 31. While we do still experience winter and even summer weather during these months, the prevailing weather resembles more of what we typically think spring weather is. It also makes record-keeping easier, since the days are the same, unlike the astronomical seasons.

The majority of the average high temperatures during these three months go from 40s to 50s to 60s. Those are true spring temperatures for you!

The rest of the meteorological seasons are summer from June 1 to August 31, fall from September 1 to November 30, and winter from December 1 to the last day of February.

The meteorological seasons are especially true at the start of the winter and summer seasons. We typically average highs in the 70s in June. That is some true summer weather, yet astronomical summer doesn’t begin until June 20 this year. The same can be said about December, with 30s and heavy lake-effect snow both being quite normal well before the winter solstice.

To summarize, the astronomical seasons are based on planetary position and meteorological seasons are based on the weather that goes with the season.

Happy spring, everyone! I promise it will feel more like it next week and beyond.