Today at 10:44am is the autumnal equinox and the beginning of astronomical fall. Meteorological fall began on September 1st and runs until the end of November whereas astronomical fall lasts until the winter solstice on December 21. The equinox fluctuates by a day or so depending on when the Sun exactly crosses the equator. The length of day and night are equal for the entire globe on this date and also on the spring equinox in March.

Residents living along the equator have 12 hours of daylight and night every day of the year. However, as the earth makes its 365-day journey around the sun, the 23 degree tilt of the earth creates varying amounts of daylight throughout the year for other latitudes. It is this difference in daylight and heating that creates weather and our seasons. If all locations on earth received equal amounts of sunshine everyday, there would be no wild fluctuations in our weather. Wind and storm systems are created as a result of this differential heating that creates different areas of atmospheric pressure. Wind is the Earth’s way of creating a balance in the atmosphere. Without the earths tilt, the weather would be the same everyday and there would be no need for your local meteorologist. So don’t blame us the next time the weather is miserable, blame it on the tilt of the Earth.