Spring Starts Today All Over America, Which Is Weird

"Spring begins today in America. Good."

"Perhaps you are mildly surprised to learn that March 19 is the first day of spring. Perhaps you learned as a child that the spring equinox — when day and night are roughly the same length — occurs on either March 20 or March 21."

"Indeed, the equinox has historically fallen on one of those dates. This is the first time in 124 years the first day of spring has occurred on March 19 nationwide, irrespective of time zone — even the graphics on the National Weather Service's website have yet to catch up with the new reality."

"So, how did we end up with an extra-early spring?"

"Defining spring: maybe not what you expect."

"The word "spring" refers to two things: the weather that happens between winter and summer, which is meteorological spring; and one portion of the Earth's oval-shaped journey around the Sun, which is astronomical spring."

"'They don't necessarily line up with each other, because the climate can change (as it is now, causing spring weather to arrive earlier) but the Earth's orbit basically' remains the same."