it’s December but it’s not winter yet

The other night we got some freezing temperatures here in Arkansas.  And I heard someone saying it’s about time it started feeling like winter.  It is December, after all.  But did you know it’s technically not winter yet?  It doesn’t start under December 22 at 12:08 AM CST.

So this means that many states in the northern U.S. are getting several feet of snow in fall / autumn.  Go figure…

So why is it December 22?  Well, I could confuse you with some scientific research about solstices and equinoxes and diurnal movements and such, but that’s not really necessary, is it?  Our winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, which is when winter “starts”.  But wouldn’t it make more sense if that was in the middle of winter?

I know, some people will say you can’t change the times of winter because that’s the way it is and it’s documented all across textbooks and stuff.  Well, astronomers removed Pluto from planet status really easily, didn’t they?  Besides, schools like for textbooks to be updated so they can rip students off by not buying back their previous textbook (which was new) and charging $60 or more for a new one that has a few words different.  Although, having gone through that myself a few times, I don’t want to promote that.

Rambling aside, perhaps I should become a world-renown scientist and make some common-sense changes to how things are defined in the scientific world.  I’ve got a lot of ideas…

3 thoughts on “it’s December but it’s not winter yet

  1. Not in a Blizzard, but stayed at a Holiday Inn Express

    And on this same note, I’d like to add that the Weather Channel staff are all jerks. This very morning, just after they finished telling me that today’s high will be in the 60s, and in the 70s by the weekend, they cut to some reporter standing in snow, with more snow falling. Then, they go to several other reporters, also talking about snow. Some were even whining about the snow.

  2. Thomas Wayne

    How insensitive! It’s just not right that they would rub it in our face that way!

    It’s also not fair that the places that take snow for granted get so much, while the places that would really cherish it get so little. If we got a foot of snow, I would rejoice. (And everyone would be staying home for a week or more.)

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