WHNT Weather

The Next 24 Hours – The First Day of Fall

Posted on: 8:30 pm, September 21, 2012, by Jason Simpson

It has felt like Fall for about two weeks now, but the calendar makes it official on Saturday! The Autumnal Equinox occurs at 9:49 AM CDT Saturday. “Equinox” means equal nights, so you would expect exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness, right? It doesn’t work out like that for every spot on Earth! The “Equinox” is measured at the Equator, so there will be exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness on Saturday at 0º Latitude. Since Huntsville is around at 34.7º North Latitude, our true 12 light/12 dark occurs a few days later between September 25th and 26th:

Data from Timeanddate.com

A cold front passing through the Tennessee Valley today brings a tiny chance of a shower (10%). The chance of “significant” rain (more than 0.25″) is almost zero, though. That means we expect any rain to be spotty and very, very light. Most of us will be dry as a bone on Saturday with a high in the lower 80s before the wind shifts to the northwest and cooler air slides in from the northwest. College football games around the South will be generally rain-free, but there is a small risk of a shower at a few stadiums. Check out the regional football forecast and the detailed extended discussion at WHNT.com Weather!

Climate Data for September 22nd
Sunrise: 6:35 AM
Sunset: 6:43 PM
Average High: 83 Record 101 (1925)
Average Low: 60 Record 39 (1938)

Hours of Daylight: 12:07 (2 minutes shorter)

Saturday’s Temperature Trend: