So while astronomical seasons make sense for Nichols’ line of work, using them would make it harder for weather experts to track and compare seasonal data.Įssentially, both ways of looking at seasons are right. The varying start and end dates of astronomical seasons means the length of those seasons varies year to year. Here’s how the astronomical seasons will work out next year: “Astronomical seasons are defined by, essentially, the earth’s position around the sun, which then has an effect on where we see the sun in the sky,” Nichols said. What it does is it allows us to keep data consistent every season,” said Kevin Donofrio, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.Īstronomical seasons also split the year into quarters, but the start and end dates of those seasons vary each year depending on when the spring and fall equinoxes and summer and winter solstices occur. That helps experts more easily compare temperatures, rain and other data from one year to another:
The National Weather Service - and meteorologists in general - use meteorological seasons, which divide the year into four three-month periods that end and begin on the same dates every year (unless there’s a leap year). Meteorological summer always starts June 1.
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