Happy Tuesday and welcome to another edition of the Beyond The Forecast newsletter! You can thank our recent snow for the one-day delay.
Over the course of this newsletter, I will be explaining how our seasons work in southwest and central Virginia. You may think that the distance from the Sun plays a role in how hot or cold it is. That’s not the case!
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Perihelion is the nearest point in Earth’s orbit around the Sun. We just so happen to be at perihelion today! It typically happens in January, but can occur closer to the winter solstice in December. The last time this happened was in 1246.
On the other hand, aphelion occurs when Earth is FURTHEST from the Sun. It will be on July 4 this year.
The Earth is 3.3% closer to the Sun during perihelion than aphelion, so we’re not really talking about a big difference in distance.
So why are we colder in Virginia during the winter when the Earth is physically closer to the Sun? It all has to do with the tilt of our planet.
The Earth’s axis is tilted at 23.5 degrees in modern times. You can think of it as a top that’s slowly rotating around the Sun.
During the winter, the Sun’s rays are more direct in the Southern Hemisphere than the Northern Hemisphere. We see the shortest days and feel the coolest temperatures at this time of year.
As we told you a couple of weeks ago, the shortest day of the year occurs on the winter solstice. That’s when the Sun’s rays are direct on the Tropic of Capricorn. The next winter solstice will be on December 21, 2022.
In contrast, when the Earth is furthest from the Sun at aphelion, we see our longest days and feel our warmest temperatures during summer.
At the summer solstice, the Sun’s rays are pointed directly at the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere. This year’s solstice will occur on June 21.
To sum things up, the minor variations in Earth’s distance from the Sun don’t have any impact on our weather. Rather, it’s all about the angle at which the Sun’s rays are directed at our corner of the Commonwealth.
Switching gears to today’s forecast, it’s awfully cold in the wake of our recent winter storm. Snow lovers could be rejoicing again later this week as more of the white stuff is possible! Chris Michaels has our latest outlook in our daily weather article.
You can always get specific forecast details for your zone, whether it’s the Roanoke Valley, Lynchburg, the New River Valley or elsewhere around Southwest and Central Virginia, anytime at WSLS.com/weather. Know your zone!
In case you missed it, we’re posting great weather and science content on WSLS.com. Here are a few links from the past week to check out:
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-- Justin McKee