Across most of the United States people have already pulled out their shovels and snow blowers as winter weather storms returned for another season. Winter is here, and it began right on schedule–December 1. That’s right. That’s the official start of the winter season and how official weather records are kept. Weather-wise, winter does not begin on December 21, as many calendars claim.
What most people usually refer to as winter is what’s really known as astronomical winter. This type of winter starts at the winter solstice, winter officially arrived at 7:04 a.m. EST Dec. 21, 2008. The Winter Solstice is the day when the distance between the Tropic of Capricorn and the sun is the shortest. Because of the earth’s tilt, the Northern Hemisphere is leaning farther away from the sun than at any other time during the year. This makes the Winter Solstice the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere.
What many people don’t know is that there’s another kind of winter called “meteorological winter,” and the further north you live the earlier it arrives. For meteorologist and other weather observers, meteorological winter is the three month period of December, January, and February. In northern locations, meteorological winter begins long before the winter solstice. Meteorological winter is based on sensible weather, like when snow and ice fall, while astronomical winter is based on the position of the Earth in its orbit around the sun. The start of astronomical winter is the same everywhere, but the start of meteorological winter changes depending on how far north you live.
So, don’t think winter arrived December 21. It’s been here. It started right on time on December 1. Just ask the millions of people across the USA who’ve had to dig out of several inches of snow, drive on snow and ice covered roads and had to stay warm during very cold days.
Stumble it!
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