Good Morning on Tuesday 21st December which is the shortest day of the year - The Winter Solstice

Good Morning on Tuesday 21st December. It’s 4°C with westerly winds of 9mph in #Formby

Today:

After a cold start, Tuesday will be another dry albeit mostly cloudy day. There is however a better prospect of sunny intervals at times, these most likely during the afternoon. Feeling pretty chilly despite light winds. Maximum temperature 6°C.

Tonight:

Increasingly lengthy clear periods developing this evening and overnight. Temperatures widely falling to freezing or just below with a frost for most and a few isolated fog patches. Minimum temperature -4°C.

High Tide:

High Tide today is at 12:04pm (8.50m)

Sunset:

The sun sets tonight at 3:54pm

The winter solstice will occur on December 21, Tuesday, in which the exact time of the solstice is apparently 3.58 pm (local time) in the UK). The sun will rise at 8.03 am and set at 3.53 pm on the day of the solstice, giving London only 7 hours, 49 minutes, and 42 seconds of daylight.

The winter solstice is considered to be the day when the Earth's axis rotates to the position when the north pole is at its most tilted from the sun, resulting in the year's shortest length of daylight. During that day, the sun is directly overhead the tropic of Capricorn, at around 23.4 degrees south. At roughly 66.5 degrees north, it is also almost below the horizon from the Arctic Circle.

Although the solstice marks the beginning of the astronomical winter season, it is also known as midwinter since the days become longer after it passes and the countdown starts for the springtime. Winter begins on December 1 of every year, according to the meteorological terminology, which divides the year into four seasons of three complete months each based on the Gregorian calendar. Furthermore, the summer solstice, which occurs approximately around June 20 and has been associated with Stonehenge and paganism, is the astronomical calendar's longest day and the start of summer.