One week ago today, Aug. 30, played itself out as if it were the last day of summer. The high that day was 90 degrees, following a morning low of 72. It was humid. We spent the evening in a tornado watch, which turned out to be an unusually quiet one.
The weather over the six days since has carried the unmistakable aura of autumn. We have now reached that point in the year when many of us, out of habit, talk about the seasons in terms of their official status, as in, "The weather is very cool, although fall does not officially begin for another couple of weeks."
Have you ever wondered who this government official is who decides which day every year fall shall begin in places like Miami as well as in Fargo? The reality is that seasons happen at only approximately the same time every year. And the equinoxes and solstices are actually significant to astronomy, not meteorology.
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