Five Picks For A Fall Getaway

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Meteorological fall begins this weekend, and that may seem too early to some more familiar with the autumnal equinox later in September.

The equinox: The arrival of fall you've probably heard about before is known as the autumnal equinox. That's the moment in time when the sun's most direct rays are shining on the equator.

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In 2024, that will occur on Sunday, Sept. 22, at 8:43 a.m. Eastern time.

Its counterpart in spring, the vernal equinox, and also the summer and winter solstices, occur in late March, June and December, respectively, due to the tilt of the Earth's axis as it revolves around the sun.

This changing sun angle through the year is why we have so-called astronomical seasons.

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Why meteorologists differ: When you examine average daily high and low temperatures throughout the year, a pattern emerges.

The coldest three months of the year in the Northern Hemisphere are usually from the beginning of December through the end of February, while the warmest three months are typically from the beginning of June through the end of August.

These nice, clean, three-month buckets are known as meteorological winter and summer, respectively.

And these three-month temperature buckets don't line up nearly as well with the astronomical seasons. For example, late December through late March is astronomical winter.

For those that live in the northern U.S., this makes sense.

It seems silly when we say "winter is here" just days before Christmas, when many parts of the north have already had at least one significant snowfall or cold snap.

Meteorological fall – Sept. 1 through Nov. 30 – is the transition between the three warmest and coldest months of the year.

Another advantage to meteorological seasons is the ease of calculating seasonal statistics, since every meteorological season starts on the first of the month.

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Decreasing daylight: Factoring in the loss of daylight saving time in early November, most areas will see sunset happen at least 2 hours earlier by the end of November, compared to the beginning of September. For more northern locales, that difference will be on the order of 3 hours.

Temperature tumble: Given this decreasing daylight and less direct sunlight, temperatures take their pronounced tumble from early September through late November.

T​hat's especially true in the northern U.S. far from any ocean influence.

F​or instance, Chicago's average highs tumble from 80 degrees on Sept. 1, to the low 40s by the end of November.

B​ut in the South, that fall plunge is much more gentle, as cooler air masses are modified by milder ocean water.

M​iami's average high only drops 10 degrees from Sept. 1 (90 degrees) to Nov. 30 (80 degrees).

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. His lifelong love of meteorology began with a close encounter with a tornado as a child in Wisconsin. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on X (formerly Twitter), Threads, Facebook and Bluesky.