# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Abner\_Ravenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Abner\_Ravenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abner_Ravenwood)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/41 "2015-10-10T18:36:43Z")
When you see the first white walker. ---
**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, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/42 "2015-10-10T21:33:03Z")
> [@Abner\_Ravenwood](#): > > When you see the first white walker. What is a “white walker”? ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/43 "2015-10-10T22:07:02Z")
Living in south Texas, I use a loose definition of winter. I’ll say winter lasts from around the middle of December till somewhere around the middle of April. I define our winter as the season where it’s cold some of the time or just right some of the time. We do have a very nice fall in October and November, when most days are just right. We don’t really have a spring, however. Here it feels like winter turns directly into summer sometime in April, with no intervening season. One year the last day of winter was May 2nd. I remember it well because the weather was so cold it forced Jimmy Buffett to postpone a concert in Austin that day because of the winter like weather. Summer began on May 4th that year, with one day of spring on May 3rd. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/44 "2015-10-10T22:15:44Z")
I live just south of Los Angeles, no true winter. Has never snowed here. 94 degrees today. I live on the coast which is usually pretty mild both winter and summer. Summer temps are normally low 80’s and winter temps are usually mid 60’s to low 70’s. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/45 "2015-10-10T22:26:51Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > This, otherwise it tends to devolve into a debate about whether or not it’s winter yet. If it snows for Thanksgiving, we might say “winter came early,” but we all know that it’s not really winter yet. Me might describe it as winter-like, alternatively. > > The bigger issue for us Michiganders would really revolve around the definition of “spring,” as it can be quite lovely spring-like weather for several weeks before being dumped on by three feet of snow and freezing temperatures. I wonder if this is typical for most temperate areas. In Texas it’s hard to pin down a spring season. If I had to, I would say that spring is when some days are too hot and some days are too cold, but it’s never just right. Fall, however, doesn’t really have the same pattern as spring. In fall most of the days are just right. Sorry for the hijack, but I think defining fall and spring helps to identify winter. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/46 "2015-10-10T22:36:57Z")
In Austin, you just never know. It CAN be in the Eighties on Christmas, but it could be frigid too. We haven’t had snow that stuck more than a few hours in 26 years, but we get a few icy days each year. ---
**Author:** ![Abner\_Ravenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Abner\_Ravenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abner_Ravenwood)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/47 "2015-10-10T23:00:45Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > What is a “white walker”? [Winter is coming.](http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/White_Walkers) ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/48 "2015-10-10T23:15:53Z")
Well its 97 degrees three miles from the Pacific Ocean in the middle of october. Where are you winter?? Its too freakin hot to drink. ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/49 "2015-10-10T23:23:18Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Psst! Solstice! DOH! ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/50 "2015-10-11T00:39:32Z")
For my own mental well-being, I try to delay it as long as possible. I don’t consider it Winter until I have to snow-blow for the first time. Winter is over the day I put the snow-blower into the shed. This is usually around Mid-December to the end of March. Pretty close to the actual calendar Winter. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/51 "2015-10-11T00:54:43Z")
> [@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,this, this. Screw the solstices and equinoxes. Astronomical alignments have fuck all to do with anything. ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/52 "2015-10-11T02:18:18Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > This,this, this. Screw the solstices and equinoxes. Astronomical alignments have fuck all to do with anything. We’re approaching the same problem from opposite ends. I say the calendar dictates seasons, because it does. You say the weather dictates seasons, which is a reasonable argument, especially since (for instance) in Australia, they don’t call the season between December and March winter, they call it summer. My argument is that when the average high temperature in my city of Rochester, NY is 78° for the month of September (which it was this year) how can you call it fall? Granted, the majority of the month is officially summer, but still. The average high temperature in May was 75° and that is decisively, officially still spring. Average high in November was 45° last year (which sounds about right) but average high in March was 36°. The outliers in those averages are even more remarkable. Whether you agree or not, can you at least understand my logic? ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/53 "2015-10-11T02:26:43Z")
When the snow start flying ! Some place already got a little snow in my state . ---
**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 11, 2015, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/54 "2015-10-11T11:41:10Z")
> [@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. > [@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 > [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > 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. > [@garygnu](#): > > This,this, this. Screw the solstices and equinoxes. Astronomical alignments have fuck all to do with anything. > [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > We’re approaching the same problem from opposite ends. I say the calendar dictates seasons, because it does. You say the weather dictates seasons, which is a reasonable argument, especially since (for instance) in Australia, they don’t call the season between December and March winter, they call it summer. > > My argument is that when the average high temperature in my city of Rochester, NY is 78° for the month of September (which it was this year) how can you call it fall? Granted, the majority of the month is officially summer, but still. The average high temperature in May was 75° and that is decisively, officially still spring. Average high in November was 45° last year (which sounds about right) but average high in March was 36°. The outliers in those averages are even more remarkable. > > Whether you agree or not, can you at least understand my logic? Here’s the official word: [http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/news/meteorological-versus-astronomical-seasons](http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/news/meteorological-versus-astronomical-seasons) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/55 "2015-10-11T13:04:00Z")
I go with the US National Weather Service’s definition of seasons- whole months. So winter is Dec.-Feb. Works for me. Our winters are “episodic”. A bit here and there with no reliable calendar date for first or last episode. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/56 "2015-10-11T13:51:45Z")
It’s winter when I have to put on a coat, muffler, and woolly hat. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/57 "2015-10-11T13:51:52Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > What is a “white walker”? A fast ice zombie with a nasty attitude. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/58 "2015-10-11T14:26:15Z")
What is this “winter”? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/59 "2015-10-12T01:35:54Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > What is this “winter”? 😕 That’s the season you have more Russians than normal running all over the place. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125/60 "2015-10-12T03:42:37Z")
Damned Commies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-would-you-say-is-it-really-winter/734125.md?page=4)