The equinox arrives today—but day and night are not quite equal
Is day and night equal on the equinox?
The equinox arrives today in the CNAW viewing area, but equal day and night comes a few days later because light bends through the atmosphere.
Forecast cloud cover across the Southeast. Map: CNAW 2, built from NOAA data on a USGS base.
The September equinox crosses the line at 2:19 PM today, marking the astronomical start of fall. The name promises equal day and night, but the math does not work that way here. Sunrise and sunset are measured to the top of the sun, and the atmosphere bends its light, so equal day and night actually falls a few days after the equinox itself.
Today Columbus gets 12 hours and 9 minutes of daylight. The real balance point comes later this week as the days continue to shorten by about two minutes each day. From here through winter, daylight keeps dropping until the December solstice, when the sun reaches its lowest point in the sky and the shortest day arrives.
Right now in Columbus, Georgia
85°Temperature
72°Dew point
65%Humidity
6 mphWind — east
29.95"Pressure
The next seven days
Day
High
Low
Rain
Conditions
TODAY
94°
71°
30%
Chance Showers And Thunderstorms
WED
91°
69°
20%
Mostly Sunny then Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms
THU
84°
63°
4%
Partly Sunny
FRI
86°
63°
0%
Sunny
SAT
87°
61°
0%
Sunny
SUN
87°
61°
1%
Sunny
MON
89°
62°
6%
Mostly Sunny
Written by the CNAW 2 weather desk from CNAW 2 weather desk data. Last updated September 22, 2026 at 2:25 PM Eastern. Covering Columbus and Phenix City, Auburn–Opelika, LaGrange, Eufaula and the rest of the 19-county CNAW viewing area.
