Assorted autumn leaves taken in my yard.
As daylight lessens, the leaves change. Share your fall photos! Enter our Sun Photo Contest.
Credit: Karen Ramsdale
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EmailFall for 2012 begins in the Northern Hemisphere on September 22, 10:49 A.M. EDT. Here’s more about the first day of fall—the autumnal equinox—plus, facts, folklore, and some fantastic fall photos! (Say that five times fast!)
It is the summer's great last heat,
It is the fall's first chill: They meet.
–Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt
The Autumnal Equinox
The word equinox comes from the Latin words for "equal night." The fall and spring equinoxes are the only days of the year in which the Sun crosses the celestial equator.
From here on out, the temperatures begin to drop and the days start to get shorter than the nights. See your local Sun rise and set times and see how the days change!
Questions and Answers About Fall
Question: Why aren't there exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness on the fall equinox?
Answer: On the equinoxes, the very center of the Sun sets just 12 hours after it rises. But the day begins when the upper edge of the Sun reaches the horizon (which happens a bit before the center rises), and it doesn't end until the entire Sun has set. Not only that, but the Sun is actually visible when it is below the horizon, as Earth's atmosphere refracts the Sun's rays and bends them in an arc over the horizon. According to our former astronomer, George Greenstein, "If the Sun were to shrink to a starlike point and we lived in a world without air, the spring and fall equinoxes would truly have 'equal nights.'"
Question: The autumn leaves seems to be hanging on longer than usual in my neck of the woods. Is this an indication of winter weather to come?
Answer: There's an old weather proverb that states, "If autumn leaves are slow to fall, prepare for a cold winter." Or perhaps you just haven't had the kind of wind or rain needed to shake the leaves loose from their branches. But look on the bright side—you get to look at the beautiful autumn foliage for a little bit longer!
Why do autumn leaves change color? See our fall foliage page!
"Changing Aspens" in Snowmass, Colorado by Randall Day
Send an autumn greeting to a friend with this free e-card!
Signs of Fall
In many regions of North America, the landscape silently explodes with vibrant colors of red, yellow, and orange. The leaves begin to drop off the trees, providing endless hours of jumping into leaf piles for kids and raking them back up for parents! Baseball season hits the homestretch, while football season is just warming up. Temperatures begin to drop, nights begin to get longer, and all the woodland critters are storing up for the long haul of winter.
You can track when the seasons change by recording animal behaviors and the way that the plants grow. Listen to the new sounds and observe what you hear and see.
How do you know that fall is coming? Share your comment below!
Autumn Folklore and Verse
Autumn days come quickly, like the running of a hound on the moor. - Irish proverb
Trees snapping and cracking in the autumn indicate dry weather.
If, in the fall of the leaves in October, many of them wither on the boughs and hang there, it betokens a frosty winter and much snow.
Spring rain damps;
Autumn rain soaks.
Of autumn's wine, now drink your fill; the frost's on the pumpkin, and snow's on the hill.
- The Old Farmer's Almanac, 1993
Autumn has caught us in our summer wear. - Philip Larkin, British poet (1922-1986)
Fantastic Fall Photos
Our eCards are great photographs to send to family and friends. Check out our full Fall eCard Gallery!
Bill Paulino Send as eCard now!
TL O'Brian Send as eCard now!
When is winter? Click here to see our Seasons page which lists when each of the four seasons starts.
Please share—what are the signs of fall you see?
From The Old Farmer's Almanac: Sign up to receive a FREE guide (A $4.95 value!) plus updates from Almanac.com.
Comments
By littlewing58
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On around August 15th I can smell Fall in the air, the smell, the feel, it changes on that date. The squirrels are noisy now. Chirping and scurreying about storing food. Sleeping and sleepiness is of high quality as it is warm in the day and cool at night.
By JuliePClark
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I tend to notice the changes in sounds first...I noted this in my journal a week or so ago:
The cicadas have ceased singing but the crickets have taken up the chorus.
By Marybeth Shipley
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that's really a nice perspective! I found this poem you might enjoy too!
November Night
Listen. . . .
With faint dry sound
Likes steps of passing ghosts,
The leaves, frost-crisped, break from the trees
And fall.
Adelaide Crapsey
By Gayle Costello
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Autumn is beautiful for such a short time. The bright bold colors of the leaves,the mums,apples,pumpkins,indian corn,here to say their goodbyes in a colorful fiesta...then...gray flannel till spring.
By Foxtrotter
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The above article states that "From here on out, the temperatures begin to drop and the days start to get shorter." This is not accurate as the days start getting shorter after the summer solstice. I think what the article may have meant to say is that the days start getting shorter than the nights, i.e., there is more darkness than light in a 24 hour period.
By Shawn stevens
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The article did say that, you should pay closer attention.
By lenomatic1
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Here in San Francisco, Fall shows up w/Arctic Terns stopping by on migration South, pole to pole, BIG migration. xoxoxo, L
By grannurse
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I love the change of seasons. When my grandson was 4 yrs he asked why the trees changed. Trying to explaine so a 4 yr. old could undeersta, I told him in the fall trees are puting on thier pj's, in the winter they were asleep, and in the spring when they woke up, they were green again.
I've really noticed the birds flocking togeather. Fall is on the way
By benni1023fm
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The first signs of fall I see every year is wolf spiders and wood spiders moving into my house. I love fall, but absolutely hate spiders. There's been four meet untimely deaths so far, there'll be 50 more at least before the snowflakes fall.
By Sylned Hamilton
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Spiders are very beneficial to our enviromnent, I never hurt one...
By Zenquieth
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Watching a web glitter in the fall morning sunlight and bounce with a gentle breeze should be enough to make anyone appreciate the skill of this creature who even lives in Kings palaces--let's give'm there space.
By lorein
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No way, not me and spiders. I visited orlando,fl., and came back with mrsa from a spiderbite
By heir apparent lathan Watts-reigntree
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what the hell!! U need to go to the store and by some raid bombs and set them off in ur house every two weeks or once a month all through out the fall and winter season mate. All of them will die :-D
By jlanham
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The poplars around here (West Virginia) are always the first to turn, followed by maples. The poplars have been yellowing and losing leaves for about 3 weeks or better. Temps all summer have been really High, but its beginning to feel more normal now with highs in the 70's and lower 80's, lows from the upper 40's to lower 60's. And than goodness the grass growth has slowed :)
By jw
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A fall nip was in the air in the flatwoods of Fla this past weekend. What a blessing it was. Great working in the yard and pasture. Really enjoy getting our fall garden ready to plant.
By Papooseman
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Yes, fall is coming. The first sign typically noticed in the northeast is the migration of the Nighthawk. They are already on the move.
By rickilees
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Here where I live in MA the trees are still green and I still hear the peepers at night as well as cicada's during the day. We have has cooler nights (upper 50"s) and the days haven't been out of the 70's all week. My window looks out over the woods and I am looking forward to seeing the color change in the leaves.
By idlegrandpaAnonymous
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in neo the fall transition seems to be a month early.but I do enjoy it
By Eric E
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Fall is coming
By rickilees
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Here where I live in MA I still am hearing the peepers and cicada's. The leaves are still green. The only thing that is telling me the season is changing is it's been in the 50's at night which is nice to sleep in. The days haven't been out of the 70's for the past week.
By CousinLinda
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Here in Southern Ontario, the days are getting slightly cooler, and the nights are definitely lots cooler!
By Feistyfdlr
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I love everything about OFA and Autumn! I just wish we could have 4 months of Autumn temps and colors, unfortunately we get to look forward to temps over 100+ for another month here Central AZ:(
By tessmck
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in Missouri, nights are becoming a little cooler, and heat-stressed trees are starting to turn.
By Maryjane
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Now this is some very interesting information. I really learned a lot by reading these questions and answers. Thank you so much for publishing this educational information. There is much here to absorb.
By Maryjane
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I absolutely love it when fall comes. It is my favorite time of year. I cannot wait to break out my sweaters and hoodies. Thank you for this report and I can't wait to read more from you.
If we see the legalism of an casino online anytime soon I will wager at the slot machines but only the ones that are honest.
By kelly59
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I agree Maryjane ,it`s my favorite time of yr too,I love the smell in the air ,the beauty of the changing leaves ,and the cool nights........my cats love it too!!
By Lileddie32
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Even though I am in Florida, I notice the mornings being just a tad cooler. By cooler I mean not so humid! But, it is nice. In a few weeks when the evening weather cools, too, my cats also love it. They get almost as frisky as their mama!
By Kamia Taylor
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I see flocks of migrating birds wheeling overhead and sometimes dropping down onto the pond to rest for a bit; the male hummers have left; and the air feels crisper somehow.
By Katherine Lewis
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even in texas at some point you can catch a scent of autumn on the breeze. of course the heat here does not end until way later, being from kansas i have a keen sense of the air. autumn is the best time of year!
By ac clark
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You're obviously not a teacher.
I Love Summer!
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