Winter: What Is

It began on a Tuesday in late November, the kind of afternoon where the sun hung low and pale, like a coin dropped into a deep well of water. Thomas sat by the bay window, pressing his palm against the glass. It was cold, a sensation that bit at his skin with tiny, invisible teeth.

When a hemisphere tilts away from the Sun, it receives solar radiation at a lower, less direct angle. This "spread out" sunlight provides less heat to the surface. what is winter

When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere (where winter occurs during June, July, and August). Key Characteristics It began on a Tuesday in late November,

It's the shortest day of the year—but also brings the promise of more daylight ahead. Brr! For people in the Northern Hemisphere ( National Geographic Kids When a hemisphere tilts away from the Sun,

Thomas reached out and touched a fence post. A icicle hung there, catching the weak sunlight. It looked like frozen time. He realized his grandmother was right. The world hadn't died. It was just very, very still.

He ran outside the next morning, wrapped in a coat that made him look like a red marshmallow. The air was so cold it stung his nose, a sharp, clean smell that tasted like iron and water. He walked across the lawn. There was no crunch of dry grass, only the distinct, satisfying squeak of compressed snow.