The Winter Solstice occurs on December 21, 2006.....?

Question

Since this is the day that the northern hemisphere gets the least amount of sunlight why are the weeks surrounding the Winter Solstice the coldest? January and February are colder than December. Why?

Answer 1

There is a lag effect that is responsible for this; the heating effect of the sun is minimized at the Solstice but the level of heating is still lower than the rate of heat loss until February or so. The residual heat from the summer causes temperatures before the Solstice to be higher than temperatures afterward.

There is a similar effect in daily temperatures as well: the Sun is highest at noon, but the warmest time of day is about 3 PM.

Answer 2

Not knowing where you are, it's difficult to say for sure but it might well be that your temperatures in December are being moderated by large lake or ocean water. Water warms and cools more slowly than land, so in December you might be getting some of the latent heat fo the water body. In January and February, the water would have had longer to cool and then would moderate the temperatures less.

Answer 3

There is a "lag"...much of our weather is dependent on the ocean temps...land temps change quickly....water temps take longer to change...the water temps are often colder in Jan than in Dec......Also as snow falls, less heat is absorbed by the soil...The heat that we feel, is radiated from our surroundings..the colder they are..the less heat we feel.

Answer 4

the sun isn't the only thing affecting temp. wind patterns, moisture content in the air, and ground temp affect it too. think of an ice cube, with the ground temp, it's just beginning to freeze now, how much longer will it take to melt if no heat is applied?

Answer 5

it is because of the tilt of Earth on it's axis puts us further away from the sun

Answer 6

it takes the heat from the sun one month to travel that far.

Answer 7

you answered the question B4 you asked it, duh