Winter Solstice 2026: When Is the First Day of Winter? What Is the Winter Solstice? The Old Farmer’s Almanac

In one astronomical reckoning, the winter solstice is the middle of winter; being the day of the year that has fewest hours of daylight. Since by almost all definitions valid for the Northern Hemisphere, winter spans 31 December and 1 January, meaning that the season takes up two calendar years, as summer does in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, depending on the year, this corresponds to the period between 20, 21 or 22 December and 19, 20 or 21 March.
The temperatures are state-wide averages calculated from temperatures recorded during the months of December, January and February. Blizzards occur when strong wind causes blowing snow and whiteout conditions, making roads impassable. Season dates for 2028 SEASONS 2028 Start dates End dates Spring 2028 Sunday, March 19, 2028 Tuesday, June 20, 2028 Summer 2028 Tuesday, June 20, 2028 Friday, September 22, 2028 Fall 2028 Friday, September 22, 2028 Thursday, December 21, 2028 Winter 2028 Thursday, December 21, 2028 Tuesday, March 20, 2029 Each season of 2028 lasts for about 3 months. Season dates for 2026 SEASONS 2026 Start dates End dates Spring 2026 Friday, March 20, 2026 Sunday, June 21, 2026 Summer 2026 Sunday, June 21, 2026 Tuesday, September 22, 2026 Fall 2026 Tuesday, September 22, 2026 Monday, December 21, 2026 Winter 2026 Monday, December 21, 2026 Saturday, March 20, 2027 Each season of 2026 lasts for about 3 months. For 235 years, The Old Farmer’s Almanac has mixed practical advice with the unexpected. The Atlantic’s warm pattern is expected to continue, while the Pacific’s cool pattern should weaken.
Also winter season is the best time in the year to see starts in t night sky, due to they are the brightest in this time of the year. Diamond dust, also known as ice needles or ice crystals, forms at temperatures approaching −40 °C (−40 °F) due to air with slightly higher moisture from above mixing with colder, surface-based air. The 3 months of shortest days began around November 5th, centred on the solstice. Winter began on December 1st, the start of the 3 coldest months. For the ancient Celts, the calendar was based around the solstices and equinoxes, marking the Quarter Days, with the midpoints called Cross-Quarter Days.

Winter Solstice

The winter solstice is the day with the fewest hours of sunlight throughout the year, making it the shortest day of the year. So, what is the winter solstice, and why does it happen? In 2026, the winter solstice date is Monday, December 21.

The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year. Is it also the coldest?

Strong El Niño winters often favor milder temperatures across much of the United States and wetter conditions in parts of the West and South. This year’s El Niño is expected to be strong, with unusually warm waters across winwinter casino the equatorial Pacific. Last winter’s La Niña faded to neutral conditions, and El Niño returned during the summer. A strong El Niño has returned and is expected to continue through winter. Expect a mild winter in the Desert Southwest, with warmer and drier conditions, including in areas that usually receive snow.

Winter in Traditional Holidays Countries of the World

• Warmer and drier conditions are expected in the High Plains, along with below-normal snowfall.
• In comparison, Vancouver, a city on Canada’s west coast with a marine influence from moderating Pacific winds, has a January low of 1.4 °C (34.5 °F), with days well above freezing, at 6.9 °C (44.4 °F).
• In the Northern Hemisphere, depending on the year, this corresponds to the period between 20, 21 or 22 December and 19, 20 or 21 March.
• Each season lasts approximately 3 months and corresponds to a period of the year which has a relative constancy in terms of temperature and climate.
• So, what is the winter solstice, and why does it happen?

The winter solstice is significant across cultures, signaling the changing of the seasons. Specifically, it’s the exact moment when a hemisphere is tilted as far away from the Sun as possible. When one hemisphere is experiencing its winter solstice, the other is simultaneously experiencing its summer solstice!
In the “astronomical” reckoning, the timing of “winter” is based on astronomical fixed points (i.e., based solely on the position of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun), regardless of weather conditions. In the Julian calendar used in the ancient Roman world, winter began on 10 November, its midpoint was the winter solstice on 25 December, and winter ended on 6 February. Winter is often defined by meteorologists to be the three calendar months with the lowest average temperatures. Different cultures define different dates as the start of winter, and some use a definition based on weather.

• In Celtic nations, winter began on 1 November and the time around the winter solstice was seen as the middle of winter.
• It is one of six seasons recognized by most ecologists who customarily use the term hibernal for this period of the year (the other ecological seasons being prevernal, vernal, estival, serotinal, and autumnal).
• Nature in the winter season is sleeping, because of low temperatures, frost in the air and snowing weather.
• A warmer, drier winter is expected in the Texas–Oklahoma region.
• Winter will be tough in the Appalachians, with colder and snowier conditions, especially in the north.
• Of course as late Winter goes on, I do start to wish for the warmth of Spring, which I love because of all of the new growth in the garden.

Other annual plants require winter cold to complete their life cycle; this is known as vernalization. The appearance of flowering plants like the crocus can mark the change from ecological winter to the prevernal season as early as late January in mild temperate climates. The hibernal season coincides with the main period of biological dormancy each year whose dates vary according to local and regional climates in temperate zones of the Earth. It is one of six seasons recognized by most ecologists who customarily use the term hibernal for this period of the year (the other ecological seasons being prevernal, vernal, estival, serotinal, and autumnal). In another astronomical reckoning, winter begins at the winter solstice and ends at the March equinox. Seasonal lag means that the coldest period normally follows the solstice by a few weeks.

At The Old Farmer’s Almanac, we’ve been forecasting the weather since the days of George Washington—over 234 years ago—so we know a thing or two about making predictions. In colder regions, winter often means shoveling, snow blowing, dealing with bad roads, and challenging temperatures. Learn more about the Celtic calendar. Meteorological winter starts on December 1 and includes December, January, and February. Thus, meteorologists break the seasons down into groupings of three months. Because of these factors, it’s impossible to point to the same date year after year and call it the coldest day.
The day after the winter solstice, the Sun’s path begins to advance northward again, eventually reaching its most northerly point on the day of the summer solstice. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, this means that the Sun’s path is as low in the sky as it can get—even at high noon. Another way to think of this is that on the day of the solstice, the Sun’s path reaches its most southerly point in the sky. During the summer, the Sun arcs high in the sky, but during the winter, it arcs lower, closer to the horizon.
Spend some time enjoying the crisp air. Of course as late Winter goes on, I do start to wish for the warmth of Spring, which I love because of all of the new growth in the garden. I was born on December 22nd, and I remember looking at the calendar to see if it landed on the solstice. The idea that winter in some way starts at the solstice makes no sense at all. We wish our entire Almanac community a beautiful, cozy, magical, and safe winter season!