People enjoy fall foliage views while riding the scenic chair lift at McCauley Mountain Ski Center on Wednesday, Oct. 6 in Old Forge.

The first day of fall is finally here, and while it still might be a little warm, pumpkin spice lattes and Halloween decorations are sure to give everyone that fall feeling.

While many consider the return of pumpkin spice lattes to menus as the official start of fall, that honor actually belongs to the day of the autumnal equinox, according to NASA.

Monday, Sept. 22, marks the autumnal equinox in 2025.

During the equinox, night and day are the same length, according to NASA. The equinox occurs twice a year, once in the spring and then again in the fall.

When is the autumnal equinox?

The equinox falls on Monday, Sept. 22, at 2:19 p.m. EDT.

When does the equinox usually happen?

The equinox occurs twice a year, once in March and once in September, when the day and night are of equal length.

"The equinox marks the exact moment when the center of the Sun crosses the plane of our planet’s equator," according to NASA. "The day of an equinox, observers at the equator will see the Sun directly overhead at noon."

When will leaves start to change?

The leaf-changing time will vary, based on the weather and where you live in the U.S. According to the 2025 fall foliage prediction map from SmokeyMountains.com, the first leaves will begin to change along the Canadian borders of northern states, like Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Wyoming, Colorado and Utah will also have some fall foliage by the autumnal equinox in September.

Nearly all of the contiguous U.S. states will have leaves changing by Oct. 27th, the map predicts, with fall colors ranging from minimal to past peak.

When is the first day of winter?

The first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere comes with the winter solstice, which will happen this year on Sunday, Dec. 21, at 10:03 a.m. ET according to the Almanac.

The winter solstice is often known as the shortest day of the year, meaning it is the day with the fewest daylight hours. After the winter solstice, days will gradually begin to get longer again.

Julia is a Trending reporter for USA TODAY and covers all things Labubu and Pop Mart, scientific studies and trending news. Connect with her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Got that fall feeling? September 22 marks start of autumnal season.

Reporting by Julia Gomez and Emily DeLetter, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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