Is today the first day of spring? What you need to know about the Equinox everyone’s talking about

Spring officially begins on Friday, March 20, at 10:46 a.m. ET, marking the spring equinox. This astronomical event occurs when Earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in nearly equal daylight and darkness. Despite varied winter weather across the country, meteorologists reported an overwhelmingly warm winter overall.