Happy First Day of Winter! Winter started late this morning around 10:03am. This is the shortest day of the year. You may also notice the noon sun appear lower in the sky and your shadow will be longer during the middle of the day during solar noon or 12:41 pm. On the 22nd of December, we will gain two SECONDS more of light! Yay!

Also, did you know winter is the shortest season we experience?  Winter is just short of 89 days.  For comparison, the longest season is summer and just shy of 94 days. Spring begins this year on March 20th at 10:46 am! Summer begins on June 21 at 4:24 am.  Fall 2026 starts on September 22nd at 8:04 pm. And in exactly one year from today, Winter 2026 will begin on December 21st at 3:49 pm.

Even though we have already seen a lot of snow for December, we're just getting started! Not surprisingly, the winter season is when Louisville experiences the most snow, by A LOT! On average, the fall only brings our area 0.2'' of snow, while spring brings 1.5'' of snow. Meantime, winter typically brings 10.8'' of snow. 

The Science behind Seasons:  As the earth spins on its axis, producing night and day, it also moves around the sun in an elliptical (elongated circle) orbit that requires about 365 1/4 days to complete. Earth orbits at a 23.5º angle, not perfectly upright. That tilt is what causes seasons, not our distance from the sun.  The December solstice is the time of year the Northern Hemisphere is tilted most away from the sun. The sun will be directly overhead the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5º south of the equator) at noon there.  This is the farthest south location where the sun will shine directly overhead; after this it starts to move north again.