What is the spring equinox? Here's 3 things to know about the start ...

Daylight saving time began and the weather is slowly, but surely, warming. Everything's in order for spring to begin, but there's one more preparatory event to mark: the spring equinox.

The problem is not many people know the purpose of the spring equinox. That's why we're here to help.

The equinox marks the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, but to be more specific, it's the day the sun's rays shine onto the equator while the Earth sits with its axis tilted neither toward nor away from the sun. This causes 12 hours of sunlight almost everywhere on Earth.

The only other day this happens is during the autumnal equinox in September.

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The sun's rays will hit the equator at 4:24 p.m. Central Daylight Time today, March 20.

According to KXAN, this year will mark one of Austin's coldest spring equinoxes in 40 years, with a high of 58º. The spring equinox of 1983 had a high of 54º, and 1965 and 1970 had highs of 48º, KXAN reported. Austin hasn't seen spring equinox temperatures in the 40s since then.

Last year, the spring equinox temperature sat at 80º. In 2021, it was 73º, according to KXAN.