If you’re still clinging to summer skies, backyard barbecues and late-night sunsets, we’ve got bad news for you — those days are numbered.
But if you live for Ohio State football, crunchy leaves, long sleeves and pumpkin spice, it’s nearly your time to shine.
Here’s what to know about the official start of the fall season, when to set your clocks back and more.
When does fall 2025 officially start?
It may be sooner than you think. Believe it or not, meteorologists say the fall season, as it relates to weather, actually begins on Labor Day.
Most people view the autumnal equinox as the official start of fall, but meteorologists mark the season a few weeks earlier.
Unlike astronomical seasons, which are based on the Earth’s and sun’s positions, meteorological seasons are fixed, with the four seasons divided into groups of three months based on temperature, according to AccuWeather.
That means meteorological fall starts on Monday, Sept. 1 and lasts 91 days through Nov. 30.
What and when is the autumnal equinox?
Also known as the fall equinox or September equinox, the autumnal equinox marks the beginning of astronomical fall, representing the first day of autumn across the Northern Hemisphere.
The autumnal equinox and first day of fall by astronomists’ standards will be Monday, Sept. 22, at precisely 2:19 p.m. ET, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. In the Southern Hemisphere, the autumnal equinox occurs in March.
An equinox, of which there are only two each year, happens at the exact moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator, an imaginary extension of Earth’s equator line into space.
This means the Earth’s axis is lined up in a specific way so that neither hemisphere leans toward or away from the Sun, creating almost equal amounts of daylight and darkness everywhere on the planet, according to the National Weather Service.
After this year’s autumnal equinox on Sept. 22, days will be shorter and nights longer, as the Sun rises later each day. This period will end with the arrival of the winter solstice, set for Sunday, Dec. 21 this year, after which days will be longer, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
What’s the difference between fall and autumn?
In reality, nothing but semantics.
The two words can be — and often are — used interchangeably to describe the third season of the year, though their original meanings are different, according to The Weather Channel.
“Fall” arose in the 1600s as an abbreviated way to say “the fall of the leaves,” according to Merriam-Webster.
“Autumn” was first used in the 1300s, getting its roots from the Latin word “autumnus.” The word eventually replaced “harvest” to signify the season between summer and winter because “harvest” caused confusion, referring to both the time of year crops were harvested and the actual task of harvesting them.
Though both terms came to the United States from Britain, “fall” continues to be the more popular choice for Americans.
When do I set my clock back for daylight saving time?
Daylight saving time — yes, you read that right, it’s not “savings” — began Sunday, March 9 and ends Sunday, Nov. 2.
Clocks are scheduled to fall back an hour at 2 a.m., Nov. 2, which will cause there to be more light in the morning and less in the evening. Not great for those 5 p.m. drives home, but hey, at least we get an extra hour of sleep one night.
That may feel far off, but Ohio sunrises and sunsets will begin shifting by about a minute a day starting in September as we move toward shorter daylight hours.
As for turning your clocks back, though, you still have a couple of months to wait.
Reporter Emma Wozniak can be reached at ewozniak@dispatch.com or @emma_wozniak_ on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Summer’s almost over: What to know about the first day of fall and the equinox
Reporting by Emma Wozniak, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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