How does winter occur

If you want to prove this to yourself, take a fresh, uncooked egg and hold it with the larger end resting on a table or counter top. Wait for the fluid content of the egg to settle, then carefully test the balance.

Be patient as you find the point where you can ever so gently let it go to remain standing on end. Please Contact Us. Please try another search. Multiple locations were found. Please select one of the following:. Location Help. News Headlines. Customize Your Weather. Privacy Policy. Why Do We Have Seasons? Current Hazards. Local Radar. Rivers and Lakes. Climate and Past Weather. Why Do We have Seasons? Weather Story. Weather Map. Follow us on Twitter. It is winter in December in the Northern Hemisphere, because that is when it is the South Pole's turn to be tilted toward the Sun.

During the summer, the Sun tracks more directly overhead, rising in the east, overhead at noon, and setting in the west. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, the Sun will be more northerly in the sky during the winter that is, June, July, and August.

So if you go to South Africa for the winter holidays, bring your swimsuit and leave your skis at home. It is winter in December in the Northern Hemisphere, because that is when it is the South Pole's turn to be tilted toward the Sun.

And, believe it or not, aphelion when Earth is farthest from the Sun occurs in July, and perihelion when we are closest occurs in January. For those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere where it's summer in July and winter in January, that seems backwards, doesn't it?

That just goes to prove that Earth's distance from the Sun is not the cause of the seasons. What Causes the Seasons? The Short Answer:. Earth's tilted axis causes the seasons. In the Northern Hemisphere , winter generally begins on December 21 or This is the winter solstice , the day of the year with the shortest period of daylight. Summer begins on June 20 or 21, the summer solstice , which has the most daylight of any day in the year.

Spring and fall, or autumn, begin on equinoxes, days that have equal amounts of daylight and darkness. The vernal, or spring, equinox falls on March 20 or 21, and the autumnal equinox is on September 22 or The seasons in the Northern Hemisphere are the opposite of those in the Southern Hemisphere. This means that in Argentina and Australia, winter begins in June. The winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere is June 20 or 21, while the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, is December 21 or Seasons occur because Earth is tilted on its axis relative to the orbital plane, the invisible, flat disc where most objects in the solar system orbit the sun.

Earth rotates around its axis. This means it gets more hours of daylight. In December, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun, with fewer hours of daylight.

Seasons have an enormous influence on vegetation and plant growth. Winter typically has cold weather, little daylight, and limited plant growth. In spring, plants sprout , tree leaves unfurl , and flowers blossom. Summer is the warmest time of the year and has the most daylight, so plants grow quickly. In autumn, temperatures drop, and many trees lose their leaves. The four-season year is typical only in the mid-latitudes.

The mid-latitudes are places that are neither near the poles nor near the Equator. The farther north you go, the bigger the differences in the seasons. Helsinki, Finland, sees In mid-December, however, it is light for less than 6 hours. Athens, Greece, in southern Europe, has a smaller variation.