BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The autumnal equinox occurred at 12:20 p.m. Wednesday. This simply means Earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in a "nearly" equal amount of daylight and darkness.
In the northern hemisphere, that means the hottest days of summer are past. Each day is shorter than the last until we reach the winter solstice in December, the shortest day of the year.
So now slowly heading into the half of the year and turned away from the sun. Meaning there is less time during the day to warm up, aiding in colder weather.
Now that the fall season is here, trees will soon turn brilliant colors. But in central California, you have to wait a little longer. As fall colors in Kern County typically peak in early November.
As for the weather heading into the fall season that unfortunately means heading into one of the hardest times of the year for California, Santa Ana wind events, and their wildfire threat.
After a very long hot summer drying out all of that already-drought-ridden vegetation which can become explosive when there's a spark add 80 to 90 mile-per-hour winds that result in 80-to-90-degree temperatures, and you have a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about Santa Ana winds and their impact on our region, tune in this weekend for Science Sunday!
Until then, enjoy something pumpkin-spiced to celebrate the official end of summer. Even if it won't feel like fall around here until Halloween which is still 38 days away!
