What a summer it’s been! Record heat, wildfires in Canada, hurricanes in California, and poor Phoenix clocking in at 110 degrees for 30 days straight. It hardly feels like the autumnal equinox, and yet September 23rd marks the moment when day and night exist in equal measures AND—more importantly—when it becomes socially acceptable to drink Pumpkin Spice Lattes and wear puffy vests. Even if it’s still 85 degrees.

According to the Farmers Almanac, this year’s autumnal equinox will arrive at 2:50 a.m. Eastern time this Saturday. At that moment, the sun will cross the celestial equator—an extension of our own equator but way out in space—and when it reaches the other side, days will start to get shorter and colder in the Northern Hemisphere. Leaves start to boast their bursts of colors, animals begin hoarding their winter snacks and preparing for hibernation. And we humans get used to less time outside, but somehow also more time scraping windshields.

There is good news though! Against all science, it actually takes less time to go from the fall equinox to the spring than from spring to fall, so, come March 19, 2024, our days will start to get longer and warmer again—and we can commence complaining about our A/C bills and how there isn’t a Pumpkin Spice ANYTHING left on the shelves!