The First Day Of Winter

Though the days will get longer the Sun will continue to rise later until early January! If it’s dark when you get up, that’s not changing for a while.

SunCalc---sun-position--sunlight-phases--sunrise--sunset--dusk-and-dawn-times-calculator

Winter starts this afternoon at 3:03 PM PST. It’s called the winter solstice. It’s the shortest day of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere the Sun is at its lowest elevation in the sky, meaning it’s least effective at heating us.

That’s the easy stuff. Like nearly everything else in life the Winter Solstice is more complex than it seems.

Though the days will get longer the Sun will continue to rise later until early January! If it’s dark when you get up, that’s not changing for a while. Afternoon sunsets have been getting later since the beginning of the month. Blame it all on Earth’s tilted axis and our non-circular orbit around the Sun.

The shortest day is not usually the coldest day. Though the Sun’s becoming a more effective heat source by the day, it won’t be until January that it becomes a big enough factor to turn the average temperature warmer. That’s one reason ‘meteorological winter’ is December-January-February.

All sorts of things we think we know are wrong–especially at the solstice. The Sun doesn’t rise in the east or set in the west. It’s southeast and southwest today.

Today is an important day on Earth’s yearly calendar. Spring is getting nearer… though still not near.

One thought on “The First Day Of Winter”

  1. I think the passing of the winter solstice (and the month of December in general) is more of a “physiological” milestone than anything else. This applies to not only those who relish the winter season – but to those who despise it as well (like me – lol).

    Once December 21st passes…the demise of December is fast approaching. This means that one month – of the three months of “meteorological winter” is now gone. While it’s true that average temps keep falling until the middle of January in much of the USA….physiologically we know that in just a few more weeks average temps start to increase – as does the power of the sun.

    Although I normally spend several weeks in Florida in winter anyway, physiologically I can handle late winter (February) much easier – I know that temps and that solar angle are rising each and every day!

    PS: Still doing well in the Tri-State -no snow this month and another “green” Tri-State Christmas/Hanukkah

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