# So when would you say is it really "winter"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 10, 2015, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125 "2015-10-10T05:23:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/21 "2015-10-10T13:24:03Z")
I’ve lived here in Kansas City all my life and it’s always seemed that from an atmosphere and social standpoint, the day after Thanksgiving is the start of winter. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/22 "2015-10-10T13:32:49Z")
It’s not unusual to have a big snowstorm near Halloween around here. But late November/early December is the point where the novelty of a new season wears off and you settle in for the long game. Everyone always looks forward to winter ending in March, but in truth March comes in like a lion and goes out like an angrier lion - it’s cold until mid April. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/23 "2015-10-10T13:38:36Z")
In Memphis? Winter is January and February, typically with one snowstorm (occasionally two) with an inch of snow that lies on the ground for 36 to 48 hours. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/24 "2015-10-10T14:21:12Z")
We live at 11,200 feet in the Colorado mountains. Summer is August 3rd. The rest is up for grabs. I chained up my plow truck last weekend, because I know I have to be ready. Thirty feet of snowfall for the winter is not unusual. My plow truck and tractor gets quite a workout. So… Winter is starting now. And snow will be in the yard/forest till late May. Winter is long and summers are fleeting. BUT I don’t have a conventional yard, so I don’t mow grass. There is that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/25 "2015-10-10T14:26:05Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > I live in San Francisco… it hit 74F this January. For you, winter is mid June - August. I live in the South Bay, so we’ve got a different weather pattern. Not much winter, really, but by mid-December the few deciduous trees that we have are bare, and stay that way through the end of Feb. We have what might be considered winter for about 6-8 weeks. Not much more. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/26 "2015-10-10T14:35:38Z")
I live in Maryland. Regardless of what the calendar says, to me winter starts the day it snows and I don’t say, “It can’t be snowing yet!” ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/27 "2015-10-10T14:45:52Z")
Meterological winter in the U.S. is December through February. Works for us temperate climate folks. November and March are “locking” and “unlocking” months (I think Kurt Vonnegut may have come up with that). _Rivers flow uphill blue turns into grey winter follows springtime morning ends the day_ - Genesis ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/28 "2015-10-10T14:54:20Z")
Winter is [when Mt. Rainier casts its shadow on the overcast morning sky.](http://media.komonews.com/images/121231_rainier_shadow_lg3.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/29 "2015-10-10T15:03:37Z")
Lately it doesn’t start snowing until january. So ‘real’ winter runs January until mid march anymore. It used to be December until February. December doesn’t feel like a fall month (being december and all) but lately it feels like a transition month between fall and winter. If we do get snow in december it is light and melts in a day or two. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/30 "2015-10-10T15:05:29Z")
Chicago. I’ll say December 1-April 1. Snow can happen pretty much from Halloween until April 15… March can be spring like, but it’s been rare in recent years ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/31 "2015-10-10T15:11:47Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > December 21st or 22nd, depending on the year. That’s the equinox. Traditional seasons are a thing of the past. Warm, hot, cold, cool, temperate… All temperatures still exist but are much more loosely associated with calendar months than they were in the past. > > Upstate NY checking in. Well if you’re going to be pedantic about it and insist on the “official” definition, it’s the Solstice. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/32 "2015-10-10T15:32:06Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > New Hampshire here. > > Winter starts for me at 1st snowfall. Winter turns to spring when the snow cover starts to break up and i see spots of brown grass amonst the snow. Also New Hampshire. Winter starts with the first snowfall _that stays on the ground instead of melting within the week_. We’ve had several years with Halloween snow - even heavy snow on one recent occasion - but it’s typically gone a few days later. Thanksgiving snow? Those events are more likely to kick of the whitening of the ground that lasts until late March or early April. Spring, of course, is after mud season, and when things begin to turn green again. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/33 "2015-10-10T15:45:48Z")
It’s winter when there’s enough snow to make the ground look more white than green. Note, however, that the last day of autumn can be and usually is somewhat later than the first day of winter, and likewise for all the other seasons. It’s even possible (though not common around here) for the first day of summer to come before the last day of winter (like a couple of times when I was in Montana when it snowed heavily in June). The seasons overlap somewhat. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/34 "2015-10-10T15:46:46Z")
When I have to wear a sweatshirt _and_ a jacket at the same time. A couple of weeks in January, in other words. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/35 "2015-10-10T15:46:56Z")
I don’t think it’s really been winter in Sacramento for many years. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/36 "2015-10-10T16:39:45Z")
Climatically, winter sets in around here when the daily highs drop below 90. Winter started a week or two ago. The true dead of winter is when the daily highs are in the 70s. i.e. January & a week in Feb. 🙂 Sociologically, winter starts when all the damn northerners arrive. Which is about 1/2 of them right after US Thanksgiving and the rest right between Christmas & New Years. Winter ends when they leave. About half go in mid March and the rest by Apr 15th, which date has some special significance for Canadian health insurance eligibility. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/37 "2015-10-10T17:21:24Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Psst! Solstice! > But my opinion: > Summer: The hot months (June, July, August) > Winter: The cool months (December, January, February) > Spring: March, April, May > Fall: September, October, November This is the best definition for where I live. I’m fine with definitions based on snow fall or temperature, but I can’t stand astronomic definitions. They seem asinine and out of touch with everything that’s actually relevant to defining seasons. Of all the things I associate with winter, the position of the earth’s orbit is at the very bottom. The solstice is a better mid-point of winter, if anything, but really there’s much better definitions. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/38 "2015-10-10T18:05:56Z")
When you have to close the doors, windows and put on a sheet. Usually in January, for about 5 days, the temperature may be in the 60’s. I live in the tropics. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/39 "2015-10-10T18:24:28Z")
Pagan here. Our winter season starts with the observance of [Samhain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain) on November 1st, the start of the pagan year and the biggest festival for us. The solstices and equinoxes are the middle of our seasons. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/40 "2015-10-10T18:25:04Z")
This is two questions. Winter, as a season, is December, January and February. Winter weather, however, kicks in around November and sticks around until early April. If it doesn’t get into the 50s at some point in the day, it’s winter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125.md?page=3)