Winter has arrived! It's true, well sort of. For most, the winter solstice marks the start of the winter season but we meteorologists like to keep it simple. Meteorological winter begins December 1st and lasts through February. For climatological purposes these are the months meteorologists use to define "winter."
March through May is "meteorological spring," June through August is "meteorological summer" and September through October marks meteorological fall. It's a simple way to keep track of seasons and climate data.
If you're more of a traditionalist I guess you can stick with the astronomical seasons. In which case, you have a few more weeks of fall. The winter solstice is December 22 at which point the direct rays of the sun will be over the Tropic of Capricorn. This is the day with the least hours of daylight for those of us living north of the Tropic of Capricorn. On the plus side, beginning December 23rd, our daylight hours will increase.
So hopefully you won't be confused if you hear us refer to "winter" during the next few weeks. For us "weather types" winter is officially underway.
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