Spring Dates Table
| Year | Meteorological open | March equinox (UTC) | June solstice (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Mar 1 (Sun) | Mar 20, 14:46 UTC | Jun 21 08:24 UTC |
| 2027 | Mar 1 (Mon) | Mar 20, 20:25 UTC | Jun 21 14:11 UTC |
| 2028 | Mar 1 (Wed) | Mar 20, 02:17 UTC | Jun 20 20:02 UTC |
| 2029 | Mar 1 (Thu) | Mar 20, 08:02 UTC | Jun 21 01:48 UTC |
| 2030 | Mar 1 (Fri) | Mar 20, 13:52 UTC | Jun 21 07:31 UTC |
| 2031 | Mar 1 (Sat) | Mar 20, 19:41 UTC | Jun 21 13:17 UTC |
| 2032 | Mar 1 (Mon) | Mar 20, 01:22 UTC | Jun 20 19:09 UTC |
| 2033 | Mar 1 (Tue) | Mar 20, 07:22 UTC | Jun 21 01:01 UTC |
| 2034 | Mar 1 (Wed) | Mar 20, 13:17 UTC | Jun 21 06:44 UTC |
| 2035 | Mar 1 (Thu) | Mar 20, 19:02 UTC | Jun 21 12:33 UTC |
| 2036 | Mar 1 (Sat) | Mar 20, 01:03 UTC | Jun 20 18:32 UTC |
Spring has two official starting lines. The meteorological calendar opens it on March 1 and closes it May 31 - the same three months every year, so forecasts and climate records compare like with like. The astronomical calendar waits for the March equinox, and here is the quiet surprise in the table below: in Universal Time, the equinox lands on March 20 in every single year from 2026 through 2036 - but the clock time slides roughly six hours later each year until leap day yanks it back. The times are official U.S. Naval Observatory figures.
Why two calendars? NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information put it plainly: meteorological seasons chop the year into tidy quarters that follow the annual temperature cycle, which is what forecasters and statisticians need; astronomical seasons track the tilt of Earth's axis through its orbit, which is what almanacs and sky calendars need. Same season, different bookkeeping - and south of the equator the whole thing flips to September.
How to use
- Type a year between 2026 and 2036 - the counter reads back the days until meteorological spring (March 1) and the days to the equinox.
- Read the table for the exact equinox moment in UTC. Your local clock can shift the date: New Zealand runs up to 13 hours ahead, so the 2026 equinox (14:46 UTC) lands early on March 21 there - while every US time zone still gets March 20.
- Plan on the 92-day version when paperwork is involved: meteorological spring is always exactly 92 days (March 31, plus April 30, plus May 31), which is why agencies schedule records and forecasts against it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the first day of spring always March 20?
Astronomically, March 20 in every year 2026-2036 - but the run is luck, not law: 2024's equinox fell on March 19, and more will again as the leap cycle shifts. The time of day is the part that always moves, drifting about six hours later each year. Meteorological spring sidesteps all of it and starts March 1, every year - which is why the dates on this page hold still.
Isn't the equinox exactly 12 hours of daylight?
Almost, but never quite. The sun is a disk rather than a point, and the atmosphere bends its light near the horizon, so daylight on the equinox runs several minutes longer than 12 hours at mid-latitudes. The date when sunrise and sunset truly split the day 12-12 comes a few days before the equinox - a detail most spring pages skip.
When does spring start in Australia?
It flips. South of the equator, meteorological spring runs September 1 to November 30, and the astronomical season opens with the September equinox. A March beach day in Sydney is an autumn day - the definitions follow the hemisphere, not the month.
Which season is the shortest?
Northern winter: about 89 days between the December solstice and the March equinox, because Earth passes its closest point to the sun in early January and moves fastest there. Astronomical spring runs about 92.7 days - read it straight off the table, equinox to June solstice - and summer is the longest season at about 93.6 days.