COLUMBIA, S.C. — It is almost time to say goodbye to Summer and hello to Fall here in the Midlands!
This Saturday at 2:50 AM Fall will begin in the Northern Hemisphere. Known as the Equinox this word is derived from the Latin terms equ and nox meaning Equal Nights.
During the Summer, the Sun’s rays shine directly onto the Northern Hemisphere. This makes for longer days and hotter temperatures. On the Equinox, the Earth’s Axis lines up with the Sun, making for equal nights and days along the Equator.
Here in the Midlands, our day won’t be equal. On Saturday our sunrise will be at 7:12 AM and Sunset at 7:19 PM. It turns out, it won’t be until September 26th that we see our 12-hour day locally.
This brings up the biggest change you will likely notice in the coming weeks which is our decreasing daytimes. Right now we are in the stretch of peak daylight loss with each day losing 2 minutes and 5 seconds of Sun.
Starting on the Equinox this Saturday and going a full month into October. Columbia will lose a total of 1 hour and 2 minutes of daylight.
This will not only make for darker evenings but is a big reason why we see our temperatures decrease through what is referred to as climatological Fall.