First Day of Winter

Today marks the winter solstice, or the first day of winter at 5:03pm CT. It is also the shortest day of the year with the sun setting at 4:23pm, only giving us 9 hours of sunlight. We've been loosing a little daylight everyday since June 21st, the summer solstice, when we see our longest day of the year. On a more positive note, after today each day will get a little longer. The nights will get shorter and the days a little longer through June.

While Monday will be the first full day of winter, it won't feel like it. Temperatures will warm to 40° with rain in the forecast. But temperatures near freezing in the morning will allow for some light snow and freezing rain mixed with rain. Not much in terms of accumulations but could make the commute Monday morning a little messy with the few slick spots possible on roads, especially on bridges and roads not traveled as much. With temperatures warming early in the afternoon the precipitation will turn to rain. The periods of rain will continue through the evening and into the morning on Tuesday. The passage of a cold front on Tuesday will bring some drier air into the area and drops temperatures into the 30s for Wednesday.