Winter officially came to an end on Tuesday and now we make the trek towards summertime. Spring officially began at 9:06 p.m. Tuesday evening so technically, the last FULL day of winter was on Monday and the first full day of spring was on Wednesday.
But whenever spring decides to show up, we start seeing more and more daylight and eventually much warmer temperatures!
So, what happens at 9:06 p.m. that makes the season of spring officially start? Well, that is when the sun is crossing the equator from south to north, on its way to the Tropic of Cancer. The sun also rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west. This only happens two times a year!
The spring, or vernal equinox, is the time of year we have been climbing the ladder from when the sun was lowest in the sky (in the northern hemisphere) and when we had the least amount of daylight in December when the winter solstice was upon us to now, when its “even.”
Now we head towards the summer solstice in June when we will have the sun the highest in the sky and the longest amount of daylight and the shortest amount of nighttime. Then we head towards the fall, or autumnal equinox, and then on to winter, and then spring, and then summer… and the cycle just keeps going. And going. And going!