Autumn is fast approaching, and if you’re like me, you’re looking forward to crisp days, chilly nights, the changing colors of the leaves and pumpkin everything. 

What You Need To Know

  • Labor Day is the unofficial end to the summer season

  • Meteorological fall starts on Sept. 1

  • The official start of fall is actually Sept. 22

Labor Day weekend is typically labeled as the unofficial end to the summer season, while meteorologists consider Sept. 1 as the start of the fall season. However, the official first day of fall is actually on Sept. 22. 

This day is known as the autumnal equinox, and on this day, the sun passes the equator, moving from the Northern to the Southern Hemisphere. The North Pole begins to tilt away from the sun.

The equinox happens twice per year, once in fall and once in spring. This year, the autumnal equinox occurs at 3:21 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 22. 

The summer and winter solstices result in the longest and shortest day of the year, while the equinoxes result in day and night having about the same length. 

The sunrise time in Syracuse on Sept. 22 is at 6:51 a.m. and the sunset is at 7:03 p.m. We will continue to lose daylight with each passing day until we reach the winter solstice. 

On the winter solstice (Dec. 21), the official start to winter, the sunset time in Syracuse is 4:34 p.m. At that point, we have about nine hours of daylight (but let’s not think about that right now).

In the meantime, enjoy the fall season!