WEST MICHIGAN - Today, Saturday December 21, 2024 marks the official astronomical start of winter. Meteorological winter began December 1. We call it the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year with only nine hours here, but some 15 hours of darkness!
We should note that while winter begins today for the entire northern hemisphere, summer officially starts for the southern hemisphere. It's actually the 23.5 degree tilt of Earth on its axis that creates or gives us our seasons. The Earth may be closer to the sun in winter, but the 23.5 degree tilt means we don't receive direct sunlight in the northern hemisphere this time of year, hence the longer shadows we all see. The sun is actually as far south of the equator as it ever gets...hence the shortest day of the year for us. It now begins its trek northward, that's why we start gaining daylight each and everyday until the summer solstice (the longest day off the year) exactly six months from today.
Take a look at the sunset times, valid for Grand Rapids, from January through April (below). We will certainly be lengthening the days!
As we round out 2024, temperatures are expected to move much higher (into the 40s) between Christmas and New Years. That said, there are longer range indications that things will turn colder as we head into January. Normal highs for this time of year have us in the middle 30s. Get the complete West Michigan forecast at www.fox17online.com/weather.
