Winter solstice 2018: Days will get longer after today

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The winter solstice, which signals the official start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere, is at 5:23 p.m. today.

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The solstice occurs Dec. 21 when the sun’s rays pass directly over the Tropic of Capricorn.

After the solstice the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun’s direct rays with the opposite occurring south.

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The best part of the winter solstice is that it also marks a transition to longer days. Even though the winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, the change begins slowly after today.

In Dayton, the amount of daylight received on Dec. 21 is 9 hours 21 minutes and 11 seconds.

In just a month, our length of day increases by almost 30 minutes, picking up 9 hours 49 minutes and 57 seconds. The sunset also will happen later and later, giving you more sunshine after work. By the end of January, the sunset is around 6 p.m. and by the end of February, almost 6:30 p.m. The sunrise also starts to get earlier at the end of January.

Even though the days get longer, there is a seasonal lag to temperatures. The lowest average temperatures are usually felt in the middle of January.