The first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere is marked by the winter solstice, which occurs on Monday, December 21, 2020, at 5:02 A.M. EST.

The winter solstice, or the shortest day of the year, happens when the Earth’s North Pole is tilted farthest from the Sun. In between, there are two times when the tilt of the Earth is zero, meaning that the tilt is neither away from the Sun nor toward the Sun.

Since the amount of sunlight is at its minimum at the winter solstice, which occurs around December 22, you might expect that day to be the coldest of the year, on average. But instead, the coldest time of year in the Northern Hemisphere occurs in February, nearly 2 months later.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the hottest official temperature ever recorded on Earth was also at Death Valley in 1913 when Greenland Ranch hit 134°.

120° F

As with most cold waves, the origins of the cold wave occurred when the jet stream migrated southward in early February 2021, allowing bitterly cold air from the polar vortex to spill south into the Upper Midwest and Great Plains. An arctic front then proceeded to usher in the cold air by February 6.

This winter weather is exacerbated by sinking winds in the Arctic and La Niña. The March 2021 cold snap was caused by frigid Arctic air tumbling downwards, bringing freezing temperatures and wintery weather to the rest of the world. In most parts of the U.S., this means more snow and winter weather overall.

November 2020 to October 2021. Winter will be colder than normal in the north and warmer in the south, with above-normal precipitation and snowfall. The coldest periods will be in mid-December and mid-January, with the snowiest periods in mid-December, early January, and early to mid-March.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac Just Released Its Predictions for Winter 2021. “On the precipitation side of things, expect ‘wet’ to be a wintertime constant, with rain or average to below-average snowfall to be the standard throughout most of the country.”

U.S. Winter Weather Forecast 2020-2021 We’re predicting a light winter for most of us here in the United States, with warmer-than-normal temperatures in the forecast for a large part of the country. Uncommonly chilly temperatures will be limited mostly to the western states and northeastern New England.

November 2020 to October 2021. Winter will be milder and drier than normal, with the coldest temperatures in mid-December, early January, and early February. April and May will have near-normal temperatures, with above-normal rain. Watch for a tropical storm threat in mid-May.