Here’s some good news for you. Spring has already arrived.
Ignore any remaining snow, mud or slush — white or not so white stuff — still on the ground, overlook the dirty piles of ick in the parking lot, and don’t fret about the blizzard-downed trees not being cleaned up yet. If you follow certain scientific sources, then spring has sprung.
If you need to hear this, you are welcome to side with the meteorologists and climatologists who have determined that spring started on March 1. No need to wait for the end of the month if you align yourself with these early season starters.
They know that meteorological spring is the thing. Meteorological spring goes from March 1 to May 1 annually. These scientists have made this calendar determination based on annual temperature cycles and the traditional calendar.
Their need to keep seasonal statistical data static for agriculture, commerce and other practical purposes dictate that winter, the coldest season, goes from Dec. 1 to Feb. 28 (or 29 during Leap Year), spring from March 1 through May 31, summer June 1 through August 31, and fall from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30.
Should you prefer to go natural, and are willing to wait a bit longer for spring, cozy up with the astronomical seasons. These seasons line up with equinoxes and the solstices. Astronomical seasons are based on the position of the earth in relation to the sun.
In the northern hemisphere, vernal — or spring — equinox occurs when the amount of sunlight is equal at 12 hours per day to the number of hours of darkness, because the earth’s axis is neither tilted toward nor away from the sun. During the equinox, the sun is directly over the equator at noon. Vernal equinox occurs between March 19 through March 21 and varies each year. This year, March 20 at 10:46 a.m. will be the exact moment that astronomical spring begins.
Contrast that date with solstices, which are when the earth’s tilt is to or from the sun is at its maximum and provides the longest and most sunlight in the summer and the shortest and least amount of light in the winter. The astronomical solstices and equinoxes also do not line up with meteorological seasons, with summer solstice on June 21, autumn equinox on Sept. 22, and winter solstice on Dec. 21.
But back to spring, which is arguably here! There is a third options for and even earlier spring start. That would be solar spring. Solar spring is considered the three months when the greatest amount of light is added to each day. So, Feb. 5 to May 4 would be the time this year, and the amounts of light added is thrilling and impressive. In that time period there are more than four hours of increased light. And even better is that the sun gets higher in the sky, and by the end of these three mouths, the sun is 32.2 degrees higher in the sky, as its angle changes over time.
The ancient Greeks and Romans assigned to the goddess Persephone the role of returning from the underworld and bringing back spring each year, but they did not assign her any specific dates for this feat, leaving it instead to her whim.
So many choices for identifying the moment of change make it exciting that spring is here. Shout it from the tops of the storm-ravaged trees or the last remaining parking lot snow muck piles and revel in the changes that are coming. We’ve earned it!
Suzan Bellincampi is director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown, and author of Martha’s Vineyard: A Field Guide to Island Nature and The Nature of Martha’s Vineyard.
This article appears in March 13, 2026.