When is the winter solstice? Rochester's longest night is coming

Steve Howe, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Updated ·3 min read

Hi Rochester! Good news: the winter solstice is Thursday.

While the weather had not really been living up to its cold and grey reputation the first half of December, sunlight is still welcome this time of year whenever we can get it. Especially as days get shorter and many people come and go from work in the dark.

  • While the winter solstice is the beginning of astronomical winter and is generally the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, it indicates more hours of sunlight to come.

  • The sun sets at 4:38 p.m. on Dec. 21.

  • But the days (slowly) get progressively longer — including the addition of a whopping two minutes by Dec. 25.

Earth's position on the winter solstice.
Earth's position on the winter solstice.

What is the forecast for New York holiday travel?

Later this week, we enter the year-end holiday travel period and the forecast remains mild, with temperatures expected to remain above normal and a below-average precipitation outlook.

  • AAA defines the year-end holiday travel period as the 10 days from Dec. 23. to Jan. 1.

  • There are an estimated 115.2 million Americans traveling at least 50 miles from home during that span this year.

  • Of those, 103.6 million are expected to travel by automobile, an increase from 2022 (101.8 million) but still below pre-pandemic levels in 2019 (108 million).

How much snow will Rochester get?

There is winter weather arriving this week for Rochester. And we’ve put together a collection of winter driving tips to keep you safe if your year-end travels take you to ice and snow.

  • The National Weather Service three- and four-week outlook anticipates average temperature and precipitation in Rochester for Dec. 23 to Jan. 5.

  • As of Dec. 15, there were 3.2 inches of snow in December – the normal snow accumulation for this point in the month is 9 inches, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information’s climate data.

Deeper dive: Western NY climate topics

I discussed the unfriendly conditions for snow creation in the early season at Bristol Mountain last week. This week, I’ll be speaking with SUNY ESF professor Colin Beier about a tree coverage map for New York about the state of the Finger Lakes region and the importance of trees in carbon recapture.

The December 2022 Buffalo blizzard kept city residents stranded at home for several days. Numerous vehicles wound up buried in snow on local streets.
The December 2022 Buffalo blizzard kept city residents stranded at home for several days. Numerous vehicles wound up buried in snow on local streets.

I’ll look at the impacts of the deadly 2022 Buffalo blizzard this week and explore the factors which led to the storm becoming so violent so quickly in discussions with residents, meteorologists and others in the community.

This once-in-a-generation storm had a tremendous human toll, explored in-depth through the tremendous reporting by David Robinson and Matthew Korfhage. If you or someone you know has a story about the blizzard, please contact me at showe@gannett.com.

— Steve Howe covers weather, climate and lake issues for the Democrat and Chronicle and as a native upstate New Yorker thinks fall is the best season. Have any insight into changing winter weather? Share with him at showe@gannett.com.

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This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: When is the winter solstice? Rochester's longest night is coming