It will still feel very summer-like for the last full day of the summer season, however, we can finally feel the humidity decreasing throughout the day
By Jackie Layer ••
Warm with bright sunshine and comfortable humidity. Highs in the low 80s south, 70s north. Northwest winds 5 mph-7 mph.
The autumnal equinox is upon us. Yes, the astronomical first day of fall officially kicks off at 10:21 a.m. Thursday for New England.
However, with the humidity paired and the 80-degree heat, the past couple of days have shown that summer wants to hold on as much as it can before New England begins to transition from summer to fall. The signs of the changing seasons are evident in the fall foliage and the earlier sunsets each day.
Lee d'Entremont-Wilfer
Winthrop, Massachusetts
Stephen Beckwith/Scenes of Maine Photography
Nahmakanta Lake, Maine
Christopher Wright
North Bennington, Vermont
Jennifer Susan
Salisbury, Massachusetts
Lee d'Entremont-Wilfer
Winthrop, Massachusetts
Roger Porter
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Twitter @chopblock33
A rainbow after a storm in Sharon, Massachusetts.
Matt Noyes
A "pileus cloud" at the top of an incoming storm cloud in North Andover, Massachusetts.
Maine Man
Clouds coming into Intervale, New Hampshire
Twitter @PaulMSnyder
Storm clouds approaching St. Albans, Vermont.
IG @rick03907
Ogunquit, Maine
IG @jimmy_wells
Mt. Guyot, New Hampshire
IG @memedawn51
Fortune's Rock Beach, Biddeford, Maine
Maine Man
A gorgeous shot from Parsonfield, Maine.
Laura Blanchflower Swanson
Sunrise in Westminster, Mass.
Lisa Teichmann
Lake Winnpesaukee, New Hampshire
@Eweather13/Twitter
Haddam, Connecticut
Regina Dear
Air balloon in Quechee, Vermont.
From the Morse Airport in Bennington, VT: A group of energetic students from Ms deRham's Pre-K Class at Fisher Elementary School in Arlington, Vermont visited the William H. Morse State Airport in Bennington, Vermont today. The students received a tour of the airport, operations and a number of aircraft including a Cessna 182 used by the Civil Air Patrol for search and rescue operations. After a questions and answers session with pilot Tim Allen, the students built and flew toy planes supplied by Airport Manager Rob Luther.
Dave Clement
David Clement captured the sunrise in Gloucester, Massachusetts, on August 26.
Ginny Colangelo
Ginny Colangelo took this photo on August 28 of the sunrise in Revere, Massachusetts.
Tom Olson
Tom Olson shared this photo on August 14 of the moon in York, Maine.
David Epstein (@growingwisdom)
David Epstein shared this photo of the sunrise through the fog in Massachusetts on August 15.
John Gorham
NECN Viewer John Gorham send in this breathtaking scene from York Beach, Maine
Jodi Purdy-Quinlan
Bill W
Scott Colbert
Scott Colbert snapped this great pic of Fenway Park.
Betsy from Mendon, Vermont, sent us a sign that fall is coming!
Keri McAndrews sent in this great scene from Dracut, New Hampshire
Ty MacLean
Eight-year-old Ty MacLean snapped this shot at Blue Hills Reservation in Massachusetts
Keri McAndrews
Sherry Blanchard
Hothole Pond in Loudon, NH
Kathy Daly
Sugar Hill, N.H.
Dawn Vessels
Hebron, N.H.
Donna Cobb
Donna Cobb
Dawn Vessels
Crawford Notch, New Hampshire
Barbara Garrett Conrad
Kate Scheffler
Ellen Genovese Hansen
Charleen Arruda
Mark Lotterhand
Dennis, Massachusetts - "Cousins"
Keri M.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Memorial Bridge
Jeremy D'Entremont
Gloucester, Massachusetts, Annisquam Light
lmcreates - Instagram
Green River Festival, Greenfield, Mass.
rick03907 - Instagram
Sunrise through fog, Ogunquit, Maine
@erikMA1961 - Twitter
Salem, Mass.
Maine Man - Flickr
Cornish, Maine
Jack Suslak via Facebook
Lynn, Massachusetts, storm damage
jimmy_wils/Instagram
Mattapoisett, Massachusetts
Gregory Carter - Flickr
Washington, Vermont
mtrem626/Instagram
Union, Maine
jimmy_wils/Instagram
Mt. Jefferson, New Hampshire
Jennifer Glendon
Salisbury, Massachusetts
Instagram/@rad_maine
York Beach, Maine
Twitter/@787MAGGIE
Quincy, Massachusetts
B. MacLean
A Blackhawk over Boston as part of the Congressional Medal of Honor Convention.
Charlie Zapolski
Saugus, Massachusetts
Mitchell Napolitano
Sunrise in the Gulf of Maine
Caren Maloof
Sunrise in Petersham, Mass
Mr_Ferguson_Cat/Flickr
Maine moose in mist
@weathereric/Twitter
Lyndonville, Vermont
@AaronPerryLSC/Twitter
I-91 in Vermont Saturday night.
grtfll1723/Instagram
Monadnock, N.H.
Dawn Vessels
New Castle, N.H.
Dapixara Art
Festive lobster pots in Provincetown, Massachusetts
James Lucier
Jeremy D'Entremont
Nobska Point Light in Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Brenda Harris
Brenda Harris describes this Circumhorizontal Arc as a "rainbow cloud."
Cara-Jean Perry
Cara-Jean Perry describes this Circumhorizonal Arc as a "rainbow-eagle" cloud.
FILE - Jim Josef
Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire
Steven Carter
Steven Carter got an up-close pic of this squirrel.
However, what accounts for an "equinox"? The fall and spring seasons always begin with an "equinox," meanwhile both summer and winter begin with "solstices." The word "equinox" means equal parts day and night. While technically we do not have 12-hours of daylight and 12-hours of darkness on the equinox, it is the closest that we see to equal parts day and night of the year.
The reason why we see almost equal parts day and night is the position of the sun's rays. The way the Earth is tilted determines our seasons. With the Autumnal Equinox for the northern hemisphere (Spring Equinox for our friends in the southern hemisphere), the sun's rays are positioned directly over the equator. Meanwhile, a solstice (which kicks off both the summer and winter seasons) is characterized the longest day of the year (summer) and the shortest day of the year (winter). This occurs because the Earth's tilt toward the sun is at its greatest point for the summer and its tilt is away from the sun at its greatest point for the winter solstice.
Now to the forecast for New England- It will still feel very summer-like for the last full day of the summer season, however, we can finally feel the humidity decreasing throughout the day. We're in for a much more comfortable morning Thursday before it is officially autumn. By this weekend, we get a dose of cool Canadian air- perfect timing for the first full weekend of fall. How cool are we talking? High temperatures in the upper 60s with overnight lows ranging from the upper 30s to upper 40s.
