March 20, 2026
First Day of Spring
First day of spring: seasons, equinoxes, and the science of weather.
You may also like ODD ONE OUT. a new podcast with Mark Ellison! Mark gives you 4 words, you decide which word does not belong. Three rounds daily, quick and fun,
Portions of today's trivia podcast were made with the help of AI.
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Calarogus Shark Media. Hi. I'm Mark Ellison. In Today's theme
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is First Day of Spring, Seasons, equinoxes, and the science
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of weather. Question one. Weather services often use a different
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calendar for the seasons than astronomers do in the Northern Hemisphere.
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On what date does meteorological spring begin and how does
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this differ from astronomical springs start at the March equinox?
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Question two. The word equinox suggests equal day and night,
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yet many places have slightly more than twelve hours of
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daylight on that date. What physical effects cause day length
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to exceed twelve hours at the equinox? Question three? On
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the March equinox, the first day of astronomical spring in
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the Northern Hemisphere, at which latitude is the Sun directly
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overhead at local noon? Question four. Many people assume seasons
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happen because Earth gets closer to or farther from the Sun.
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What is the real reason Earth has seasons? Question five.
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As spring begins, a high altitude river of wind shifts
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poleward in the Northern Hemisphere, steering storms and bringing changeable weather.
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What is this feature called? We'll be right back with
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these answers after this break welcome back. Question one, what
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astronomical event defines the spring equinox? Answer? The sun crosses
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the celestial equator at the equinox. The subsolar point sits
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at Earth's equator, so both hemispheres receive nearly equal sunlight.
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Day and night aren't exactly equal due to atmospheric refraction
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and the definition of sunrise slash sunset. The truly equal
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day is called the equiluc Question two, when does meteorological
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spring start in the Northern Hemisphere, answer March first. Meteorological
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seasons divide the year into three month blocks. Spring is
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March May based on temperature patterns and climate records. This
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makes data comparison and forecasting consistent, unlike the equinox, which
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can vary by date and time. Question three, what do
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we call the delay between longer days and warming temperatures?
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Answer seasonal lag. Oceans and land absorb in store heat,
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releasing it slowly, so temperatures respond after changes in solar input.
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This thermal inertia means the warmest days typically arrive weeks
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after the equinox and the coldest days after the winter solstice.
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Question four. In the Southern hemisphere, which season starts at
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the March equinox. Answer autumn Earth's tilted axis means the
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March equinox marks the Sun crossing northward over the celestial equator,
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giving the southern hemisphere less direct sunlight. As a result.
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It's the star of autumn south of the equator, while
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its spring in the north. Question five, which pyramid shows
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the serpent's shadow at the equinox
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