First day of spring

when is the first day of spring

When is the first day of spring? There are two honest answers. Astronomical spring begins at the March equinox, the moment the Sun’s apparent path moves north across the equator. In 2026 that moment is 20 March at 14:46 UTC, which is 10:46 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time in the United States. Meteorological spring begins on 1 March so that the season is three whole months for weather records.

Hold the two starts side by side: Sky start: the March equinox (20 March 2026 at 14:46 UTC). Weather start: 1 March every year. Sky end: the June solstice. Weather end: 31 May. The equinox is one instant worldwide. The local calendar date can still differ by a time zone. A table in UTC can show 20 March while a zone far west of UTC is still on the previous evening. Always convert the published UTC time if you care about the hour, not only the date.

People also ask “when is first day of spring” and “what is the first day of spring” as if those were different facts. They are the same fork: sky or weather calendar. The sky answer moves among 19, 20, and 21 March. The weather answer does not move: 1 March.

The equinox will not wait for the first patio afternoon. Weather can feel like January on a day the almanac already calls spring.

How many days of spring

How many days of spring depends on which spring you meant. Meteorological spring is March, April, and May: 31 + 30 + 31 = 92 days. Astronomical spring runs from the March equinox to the June solstice. That span is a little more than 92 days and is not identical every year, because Earth does not move around the Sun at a perfectly even speed.

If you are counting “how many days until first day of spring,” count from today’s date to 1 March for the meteorological start, or to the published equinox date for the astronomical start. Do not mix the two targets in one countdown.

In the Southern Hemisphere the March equinox is the start of autumn, not spring. Southern astronomical spring begins at the September equinox. If you skip the hemisphere, every other number on the page will be facing the wrong way.

Why the date is not always 21 March

Many people learned “spring starts on 21 March.” The civil date of the equinox drifts because a calendar year is not exactly one tropical year. Leap days pull the date back. In the 21st century the March equinox in United States time zones is typically 19 or 20 March, not 21 March.

Equal day and night is the nickname, not a laboratory measurement. Atmospheric refraction and the Sun’s apparent size make daylight a little longer than night at many latitudes on the equinox itself. The clean fact is the Sun’s position above the equator, not a stopwatch on your street.