Everything you need to know about the forecast, and making the most of the weather. The latest breakthroughs, winter melon and news from the Met Office.
Support your business with world-leading science and technology. Who we are, what we do and organisational news. How you define the first day of winter depends on whether you are referring to the astronomical or meteorological winter. The day in our calendar that marks the first day of winter usually refers to the astronomical seasons which are a result of the Earth’s axis and orbit around the Sun.
Astronomical winter This year, astronomical winter begins on 21 December 2022 and ends on 20 March 2023. The astronomical calendar determines the seasons due to the 23. 5 degrees of tilt of the Earth’s rotational axis in relation to its orbit around the Sun. Both Equinoxes and Solstices are related to the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. However, the dates of the Equinox and Solstice aren’t fixed due to the Earth’s elliptical orbit of the Sun.
Meteorological winter However, at the Met Office, we often use a meteorological definition of the seasons. Meteorological seasons consist of splitting the seasons into four periods made up of three months each. These seasons are split to coincide with our Gregorian calendar, making it easier for meteorological observing and forecasting to compare seasonal and monthly statistics. We often talk about it beginning to feel like autumn when the nights start to draw in and temperatures start feeling cooler.
How you define the first day of spring depends on whether you are referring to the astronomical or meteorological spring. There are many factors that influence the weather during the winter months in the UK including the North Atlantic Oscillation. Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, and vice versa. In many regions, winter brings snow and freezing temperatures.
The earliest sunset and latest sunrise dates outside the polar regions differ from the date of the winter solstice and depend on latitude. The tilt of the Earth’s axis relative to its orbital plane plays a large role in the formation of weather. The Earth is tilted at an angle of 23. Sun as the Earth moves through its orbit. When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the Southern Hemisphere faces the Sun more directly and thus experiences warmer temperatures than the Northern Hemisphere. During winter in either hemisphere, the lower altitude of the Sun causes the sunlight to hit the Earth at an oblique angle. Thus a lower amount of solar radiation strikes the Earth per unit of surface area.
Furthermore, the light must travel a longer distance through the atmosphere, allowing the atmosphere to dissipate more heat. In comparison, Vancouver on the west coast with a marine influence from moderating Pacific winds has a January low of 1. N latitude, and in the same western half of the continent. Meteorological reckoning is the method of measuring the winter season used by meteorologists based on “sensible weather patterns” for record keeping purposes, so the start of meteorological winter varies with latitude. The coldest average temperatures of the season are typically experienced in January or February in the Northern Hemisphere and in June, July or August in the Southern Hemisphere. Accumulations of snow and ice are commonly associated with winter in the Northern Hemisphere, due to the large land masses there.