First day of spring · March equinox
How many days until spring?
Checked October 8, 2026 · first publish
164 days
Sat, Mar 20, 2027
There are 164 days until the first day of spring (March equinox), Sat, Mar 20, 2027. The equinox happens at one instant worldwide: 4:25 p.m. EDT on Sat, Mar 20, 2027 in New York. Spring by the weather calendar starts sooner, on March 1.
23 weeks and 3 days · 23 weekends · 164 sleeps · 110 business days
| US time zone | Local time | Local date |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern time | 4:25 p.m. EDT | Sat, Mar 20, 2027 |
| Central time | 3:25 p.m. CDT | Sat, Mar 20, 2027 |
| Mountain time | 2:25 p.m. MDT | Sat, Mar 20, 2027 |
| Arizona time | 1:25 p.m. MST | Sat, Mar 20, 2027 |
| Pacific time | 1:25 p.m. PDT | Sat, Mar 20, 2027 |
| Alaska time | 12:25 p.m. AKDT | Sat, Mar 20, 2027 |
| Hawaii time | 10:25 a.m. HST | Sat, Mar 20, 2027 |
Instant from the US Naval Observatory (UTC), converted to local clock time. Daylight saving time starts on Sun, Mar 14, 2027, so mainland zones are on daylight time at the equinox.
| Year | UTC | New York time | Days away |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Fri, Mar 20, 2026, 14:46 UTC | 10:46 a.m. EDT on Fri, Mar 20, 2026 | 201 days ago |
| 2027 | Sat, Mar 20, 2027, 20:25 UTC | 4:25 p.m. EDT on Sat, Mar 20, 2027 | 164 |
| 2028 | Mon, Mar 20, 2028, 02:17 UTC | 10:17 p.m. EDT on Sun, Mar 19, 2028 | 529 |
| 2029 | Tue, Mar 20, 2029, 08:02 UTC | 4:02 a.m. EDT on Tue, Mar 20, 2029 | 895 |
| 2030 | Wed, Mar 20, 2030, 13:52 UTC | 9:52 a.m. EDT on Wed, Mar 20, 2030 | 1260 |
In 2028 the equinox comes at 02:17 UTC on March 20, which is still the evening of Sun, Mar 19 in every US time zone. US calendars that say March 20 for 2028 are using the UTC date.
| City | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | 7:00 a.m. | 7:08 p.m. | 12 h 8 min |
| Los Angeles, CA | 6:57 a.m. | 7:05 p.m. | 12 h 8 min |
| Chicago, IL | 6:54 a.m. | 7:03 p.m. | 12 h 9 min |
| Houston, TX | 7:25 a.m. | 7:33 p.m. | 12 h 8 min |
| Phoenix, AZ | 6:32 a.m. | 6:40 p.m. | 12 h 8 min |
| Philadelphia, PA | 7:04 a.m. | 7:13 p.m. | 12 h 9 min |
| San Antonio, TX | 7:38 a.m. | 7:45 p.m. | 12 h 7 min |
| San Diego, CA | 6:52 a.m. | 7:00 p.m. | 12 h 8 min |
| Dallas, TX | 7:31 a.m. | 7:39 p.m. | 12 h 8 min |
| Seattle, WA | 7:12 a.m. | 7:22 p.m. | 12 h 10 min |
| Denver, CO | 7:04 a.m. | 7:12 p.m. | 12 h 8 min |
| Miami, FL | 7:25 a.m. | 7:32 p.m. | 12 h 7 min |
Calculated by DayReckon with the NOAA solar equations. Every city gets slightly more than 12 hours of daylight on the equinox.
Why does the first day of spring have a time, not only a date?
The equinox is a single moment, not a whole day. In 2027 that moment is 20:25 UTC on Sat, Mar 20. Clocks in every US time zone read it differently: 4:25 p.m. in New York, 3:25 p.m. in Chicago, 1:25 p.m. in Los Angeles, 10:25 a.m. in Honolulu. Our counter runs to that instant, which is why its hours do not end at midnight.
Why does 2028 start spring on March 19?
In our five-year table the equinox comes almost six hours later each year, then jumps back after a leap day. In 2027 it is 20:25 UTC. In 2028, a leap year, it moves to 02:17 UTC on March 20. In New York that is 10:17 p.m. on Sun, Mar 19, and every other US zone is earlier still. So for Americans, the first day of spring 2028 is Sunday, March 19, even though many calendars print March 20.
What changes in daylight around the equinox?
On Sat, Mar 20, 2027, all 12 cities in our table get between about 12 hours 7 minutes and 12 hours 10 minutes of daylight. They differ far more three months later. Seattle and Miami are within a few minutes of each other today; at the June solstice, Seattle's day runs more than two hours longer.
Daylight saving time has already started by then. It begins at 2:00 a.m. on Sun, Mar 14, 2027, six days before spring.
Questions people ask
- When is the first day of spring 2027?
- The March equinox is Sat, Mar 20, 2027 at 20:25 UTC. That is 4:25 p.m. in New York, 1:25 p.m. in Los Angeles and 10:25 a.m. in Honolulu. The US Naval Observatory gives the time, and AstroPixels agrees to the minute.
- Is spring on March 1 or March 20?
- Both, depending on who is counting. Astronomers use the equinox, March 20 in most years. Meteorologists use whole months, so meteorological spring is March, April and May, starting March 1. NOAA explains that the month version makes season statistics easier to compare.
- How many weeks until spring?
- It is 23 weeks and 3 days until the March equinox, Sat, Mar 20, 2027. If you count to meteorological spring instead, subtract the days between March 1 and the equinox date, which is 19 days in 2027.
- Is day and night equal on the first day of spring?
- Close, but not exactly. Our calculation for Sat, Mar 20, 2027 gives a little over 12 hours of daylight in all 12 cities we track, about 12 hours 7 to 10 minutes. So day and night are not exactly equal on the equinox date.
Sources
- US Naval Observatory: Earth's Seasons (API) — aa.usno.navy.mil
- AstroPixels: Solstices and Equinoxes 2001-2100 — astropixels.com
- NOAA NCEI: Meteorological versus astronomical seasons — ncei.noaa.gov
- NIST: Daylight Saving Time — nist.gov
General date information from official calendars (OPM, USNO). It is not legal, tax or immigration advice; check the agency named on the page for your own deadline.