No matter how you slice it or dice it, Friday means winter is over and spring is here as the spring equinox arrives.

The spring equinox is a precise moment in time and this year it will be at 1:03pm NZST, Friday September 23. (11:03am if you’re in eastern Australia).

At this time of year the days and nights are basically equal length – but over the coming weeks the days will extend longer and longer whilst the nights get shorter.

The days will continue to get longer up until the longest day of the year, three months from now on December 22nd.

WeatherWatch.co.nz says in September the daylight hours grow the fastest of any other month of the year, gaining roughly 20 minutes of extra daylight each and every week.

Also, a reminder clocks “spring forward” one hour this weekend. It will make the mornings darker when you wake up next week, but the daytime will extend an hour later at the end of the day.

• Image: – “The Sun setting behind Mt Campbell (10km inland from Motueka township). Used special sun filter to take photo”. File photo by Grant Heney.

• WeatherWatch.co.nz