FLORENCE, Mass. (WWLP) - It may still feel like summer but the official start of fall is just a few days away. People were enjoying the beautiful weather on the final days of summer at Look Park in Florence on Thursday. Fall officially arrives this weekend. The autumnal equinox is the time of the year when the sun's rays are directly over the equator as it continues to move into the southern hemisphere. The word equinox comes from Latin and means equal night. During the equinox, the length of day and night are virtually the same. Some people 22News talked to are looking forward to fall. Shenoa Sharpentier of Westhampton told 22News, "I love fall, my birthday's in fall and the temperature and the change in temperature is nice and it's been beautiful so far yeah I'm really looking forward to it." "Of course I love it, it's my favorite time of year!" adds Diane Merrit of Northampton. "Oh the weather is perfect, the trees are beautiful." With the cooler temperatures that we've been having at night and the change in the length of day, the leaves are starting to change color. This happens because the leaves stop their food making process. The chlorophyll breaks down, the green color disappears and the yellow, orange and red colors become visible. Right now for the most part we're seeing some patchy color here in western Massachusetts. Fall officially begins Sunday morning at 8:44 a.m Local News Headlines Massachusetts Day at Big E highlights voting info and politics, state officials visit the grounds Free Karen Read movement calls for government accountability Headstones damaged 16 months ago still not replaced in Northampton Locals enjoy last days of summer in western Massachusetts WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.