Pumpkin stands are already popping up along roadsides.

Maple trees are beginning to give up their green for autumn coats of oranges and reds.

And, if the night chill wasn’t confirmation enough, calendars tell us fall arrives at 5:18 p.m. today

After a cooler-than-average summer, National Weather Service meteorologists in Indianapolis say, fall temperatures will be pleasantly average. And the winter outlook calls for warmer-than-normal temperatures and less rain and snow than usual.

Today is the autumnal equinox, when the Earth’s tilt is such that the sun crosses directly across the equator.

It also is one of two points on the calendar (the other is in spring) when day and night are equally long. From now until late March, darkness will rule over light.

So what are the next few months likely to bring? From October through December, local meteorologists say, weather will be average for the season, with average highs of 39 to 66 degrees and lows of 24 to 44 degrees. More than 9 inches of rain and nearly 8 inches of snow are likely.

The winter outlook, from January through March, calls for higher-than-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation.

Although extremes will no doubt occur, that means winter highs likely will exceed the usual 35 to 51 degrees and lows will stop short of the average of 19 to 32 degrees. We also can expect to receive less than 8 inches of rain and 181/2 inches of snow, meteorologists say.

As for closing the book on summer, it was one for the Indianapolis area to remember.

Only eight days in June, July and August were hotter than 90 degrees. Usually, Indianapolis tops 90 degrees 15 times a year, said weather service hydrologist Al Shipe. July was the second-coolest on record here, without a single day topping 90.

The milder weather made for great baseball-watching, greener lawns and record attendance at an extended Indiana State Fair. But the coolness cut into attendance at area pools.

The coolest days of the summer occurred on two days usually among the city’s hottest. On July 18 and 19, temperatures dropped to 55 degrees, Shipe said.

The last day of summer Monday found “leaf cams” at Spring Mill State Park and the French Lick Resort in Southern Indiana showing tinges of yellow on some trees.

And, in a sure sign of fall, workers in Downtown Indianapolis raked leaves at University Park.