when is the middle of winter?

Answer 1

In the Northen Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice occurs on December 21, which is when daylight starts gettings longer again.

Answer 2

Depending on where you are on the globe, the length of perceived "seasons" change ... sometimes dramatically.

Once you are out of the tropics (going north OR south), you've got a 4-season year. For most areas in the northern portion of the globe, the "winter" season runs from 20 December to 21 March. This would make "mid-winter" occur on February 4th. If, however, you were in the southern area that corresponded to this, you'd be 182.5 days later ... or around about August 6th.

If you're closer to the poles than the Arctic (or Antarctic) Circle, then winter actually lasts even longer ... but is spread about equally around the "mid" points.

If you happen to live in the tropics, your equivalent of winter occurs during the "wet" monsoon season ... which runs more or less from 15 June to 20 September. In this case, "mid-winter" happens around August 3rd.

Answer 3

Astronomically, the winter season is from winter solstice to vernal equinox. Consider 4 yearly cycles - winter solstice of 2005 to vernal equinox of 2009:

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/EarthSeasons.html

During this period, the average time of winter solstice is December 21 at 2143 UTC and the average time of vernal equinox is March 20 at 1501 UTC. The midpoint between those is February 4 at 0922 UTC (if that does not seem correct, remember February 29, 2008).

I choose Indianapolis, IN as a typical location in the continental U.S. - near the center but a little east & north. Most population is toward the east, and if we are talking winter, colder weather is toward the north. CST is 6 hours behind UTC, so the midpoint is February 4 at 3:22 AM CST.

Here are their climate normals:

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ind/print_localdata.php?loc=txtdat&data=climatenormals.txt

Note how small of a change there is in their normal max & min temperatures during mid-January - averages of 18°/34° each day between January 9 & 23 - the midpoint of which is January 16. For most locations (especially east), this is late January.

So the way I think, there are 2 answers - early AM of February 4 from an astronomical perspective and January 16 from a meteorological perspective - at least for locations similar to them.

The daily normal temperatures are not strictly averages, but to some extent a product of curve-fitting to the monthly averages, as I explain here:

http://www.joseph-bartlo.net/articles/080499.htm
http://www.joseph-bartlo.net/articles/081099.htm

Answer 4

Technically speaking, if each season is 13 weeks long, and winter begins on December 21st, then mid winter would be around the second weekend in February.

Answer 5

Feb. 4,5, or6, depending on the year . That's in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it'd be Aug. 4, 5 ,or6.

Answer 6

Early Feb. or so--right when I cannot stand the sight of even one more snowflake and I long to put my shovel away!

Answer 7

Feb I think

Answer 8

late january