Autumnal Equinox: 3 things to know about fall 2018

Fall officially begins with the Autumnal Equinox! The astronomical seasons are based on the Earth's orbit around the sun.

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During an equinox, neither the northern nor southern hemisphere are pointed towards the sun. This year the fall equinox is Saturday at 9:54 p.m.

Here are three things to know:

1. Fall will begin this year on a cool note. It looks like the end of September and early October has a good chance to stay at or below normal for temperatures. Fall is a transition season, so the "normal" high temperature in the beginning is 73 degrees and by the end of the season it drops to 36 degrees.

2. Daylight is lost quickly this month. We started losing daylight when summer began with the solstice in June and will continue to see it get darker, sooner through the start of winter. The month of October we will lose about 2 minutes and 30 seconds of daylight each day until the end of the month.

3. Cooling down means that fall colors will emerge. October is typically when leaves begin to change. Typically across the northern half of the state sooner than here in the Miami Valley.

Fall is also when we can see our first taste of winter weather! The earliest measurable snow (at least 1/10 inch) was October 18, 1989.