It’s official, winter has arrived
Posted Dec 22, 2011 07:13:31 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – It’s the first day of winter, Thursday, but you wouldn’t know it because there’s no snow, and it’s not very cold.
The forecast for Thursday calls for mostly cloudy skies, with the chance of showers changing to flurries during the afternoon, and a high of 2.
Winter officially arrived at 12:30 a.m.
In the northern hemisphere, the first day of the winter season is the day when the sun is the farthest south of the equator, otherwise known as the Winter Solstice.
A commonly held belief is that the Earth is physically farthest from the sun during the winter months, but this is not true. In reality, the overall planet is actually physically closest to the sun in December.
Instead, it is the tilt of the earth that brings winter to our section of the world. During the Earth’s annual rotation the north-south position of the sun changes as the earth tilts along its axis. The first day of winter in our hemisphere corresponds to the date where the Earth’s tilt is such that the sun is farthest south of the equator.
This means the sun’s rays hit the northern half of the world the least directly, bringing what we call winter. It is also the shortest day of the year, with the length of time between sunrise and sunset being minimal.
We have had unusually warm temperatures throughout the first half of December, although some forecasts indicate we may have slightly more snow than average this winter.
For those already looking forward to spring, the first day of spring 2012 will be March 20.
