Peninsula: Last day of summer today

Autumn officially arrives early Tuesday, and — typically of the North Olympic Peninsula — the weather outlook for the first week of fall looks almost summerlike.

Earth reaches the autumnal equinox at 3:47 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, and the Peninsula will be greeted with mostly sunny skies by afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

By the end of the week, a warming trend will raise daytime high temperatures to near the 70-degree mark at some parts of the Peninsula, says AccuWeather, Peninsula Daily News’ weather service (click on WEATHER at left).

In astronomical terms, the autumnal equinox in the northern hemisphere marks the time when the sun crosses the celestial equator as it moves southward. Night and day are nearly the same length.