Starbucks recently rolled out its annual pumpkin spice lineup, and corn mazes are popping up all over the Midwest, so it’s only a matter of time before we officially enter fall.
This is surely welcome news for those Midwest residents who are tired of excessive heat warnings and soul-crushing humidity, but when will autumn officially begin?
If you ask a meteorologist, then fall begins on Sept. 1 and runs through Dec. 1.
According to astronomers, and the date that will appear on your calendars, the official start of fall will occur at 1:50 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23 in the Chicago area.
While that date will mark the start of the season, it doesn’t actually mean we will see precisely 12 hours of sunlight in a given day. That milestone, or at least the mark closest to it, will occur on Sept. 26, when the Chicago area will receive 11 hours and 59 minutes of sunshine.
By the end of September, the sun will be setting just before 6:30 p.m. in the city and suburbs. We’ll lose more than 80 minutes of daylight over the course of the month of September, as sunset will move from 7:24 p.m. to 6:34 p.m. over the 30 days.
Sunrise will also move forward by 30 minutes, taking place at 6:46 a.m. by month’s end, accounting for the total loss of sunshine.
Local
By the end of October, the sun will be setting before 6 p.m. again.
In terms of weather, things will likely start to change in a dramatic way. On Sept. 1, the average high temperature in the city of Chicago is still 80.2 degrees, but by the end of the month, that average high will have dipped below 70 degrees, and the average low temperatures will be just above 50 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
