If you ask most people when fall begins, they'll tell you that it's on the solstice late in September, but it's a little different for meteorologists.

New York

Meteorological fall and astronomical fall start on different dates, which can cause confusion when tracking seasonal records. Meteorological fall always begins on the first day of a set month, making it easier for meteorologists to maintain consistent records. In contrast, astronomical fall starts on the date of the autumnal equinox, which can vary from year to year, sometimes falling on the 21st or 22nd and even at different times of day.

This variation in astronomical fall dates can complicate record-keeping, as a record set on one day might count as a summer or fall record depending on the year. Meteorologists prefer the fixed start of meteorological fall for clarity and consistency in data collection.

The difference between meteorological fall and astronomical fall

It is the start of meteorological fall. And AccuWeather's Autumn Anthony Laubach joins us from Denver, Colorado to explain why we see two different starts to fall. You know, we never called him Anthony Laubach before, but I think we're trying to shoot for the alliteration. Autumn Anthony, what do you think about that? It doesn't feel right, Tony. It is not. In fact, Anthony is usually what I am called by my mother when I'm in trouble, but I figured for this, we'll make an exception because Autumn Tony just doesn't work out very well. And neither does Fall Tony, although Tony does fall a lot. Today, September 1st, not really feeling like fall here with the AccuWeather real field temperature currently at 89 degrees. But nonetheless, we are starting fall for the first of two official times. And it is official mainly to us meteorologists because it's just easier for the bookkeeping. Let me show you the dates we're looking at this year. Obviously today, September 1st, we're looking at the start of meteorological fall. We got to go about three weeks up the road there to September 22nd before we get to astronomical fall. But notice there the word choice for that, sometimes. And it's about half the time. Typically we bounce back and forth between the 21st and the 22nd. And that can get a little bit confusing when you're trying to keep records that are meant for seasonal records. Imagine for instance, you have the equinox on September 21st. That would mean that summer ends on the 21st. Well, if you've got it on the 22nd, then that would be summer ending on the 22nd. So if you set a record on the 21st, depending on the year, that could be a summer record or a fall record, which makes for utter confusion, not to mention the equinox has different times in addition to the different dates. We start meteorological fall today at midnight, and that is the case every year, which means it's easier to keep the books. And we keep three month seasons, obviously, as we get into winter, we get into December, we make that the December 1st, get into spring and so forth. We always do that on the 1st, every three months. So it keeps everything very easy in the books and it prevents us, especially us spreadsheet nerds like myself from having to come up with complicated equations, trying to dissect exactly what those records are if we're going by the astronomical season. So, albeit warm here in Denver, Colorado, it is the start of meteorological fall. Last week felt more like the start of, it actually felt like fall, but we've warmed up considerably since then, but the steps of fall have taken very nicely. Pumpkin spice season has begun, football season has begun. So most of fall is underway, if you ask Autumn Anthony. All right, I'm a fan. Meteorologist Autumn Anthony Laubach, thanks again joining us here on this holiday, Tony.

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Breakdown