What's the weather like this season?
In most years past, this seasonal section began with "Winter Is Coming!" Weeell, that is NOT the case this year! Ole Man Winter came early! With a polar-vortex-like vengeance! Yet, after that early appearance, here we are: Christmas week and we're experiencing Springlike weather for this area. Ugh!
We welcome the advent of winter amid [no surprise here. This appears to be the new "normal."] the tridemic with RSV [Respiratory Syncytial Virus], flu and still COVID-19. [At least one medical professional usually warns of a quademic, adding the common cold to the aforementioned trio.] Technically, winter arrives in the Northern Hemisphere at 10:03 a.m. EST Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025.
The first day of winter is also the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year. It's also known as the Longest Night. OK, so, yes, it's still 24 hours but fewer of them have daylight. 🙂 Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere will have about 7 hours and 14 minutes of daylight, which is how it earns the shortest day title.
Locally The Castle in Marietta is attempting to cover all the bases because weather may be a factor. Rain or shine the in-person event is Sunday, Dec. 21, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Sacra Via Park (between Third and Second Streets). One function of the large earthwork complexes, such as the one found at Marietta, was to track the passage of seasons through astronomical observations. Aligned along the parallel walls of “Sacra Via” is the winter solstice sunset. If the weather cooperates, they will view the sun setting on the western Muskingum Valley bluff between 4 to 4:30 p.m. in near perfect alignment with Sacra Via. The event will be FREE and open to the public, with maps and a brief commentary provided by Castle archaeologist Wes Clarke as he discusses the astronomical alignments of Marietta’s mound structures.
For more information, visit 2025 Solstice Watch online.
This offering is free. Donations are encouraged A mere $5 is suggested.
Because their Solstice Watch is weather-dependent, their broadcast activities can vary. Use the Solstice Map shown below to orient yourself to where sightings are located.
The Sacra Via site (blue dot) marks the main alignment viewed from between the ancient parallel walls.
The Quadranaou platform mound (red dot) offers a secondary vantage point where the alignment crosses two access ramps.
If sighting conditions are good, they will start with a brief discussion and viewing on the long Sacra Via alignment (blue dot), originally extending between the huge parallel walls of the earthwork complex. Then they will shift location to the Quadranaou platform mound (red dot), where they can witness the solstice alignment again due to a change in elevation. Here the alignment crosses two access ramps on the mound perimeter. During the relocation from Sacra Via to Quadranaou, the virtual feed will stop for a few minutes.
If sighting conditions are not good but there is no precipitation, they will still provide comments virtually from both the Sacra Via and Quadranaou locations, with a break in the feed while relocating. If there is precipitation or conditions are otherwise poor, they will provide comments from a gazebo shelter on Sacra Via, but will not relocate to Quadranaou.
Purists, perhaps, would prefer to watch the Winter Solstice sunrise Dec. 21 amid some prehistoric rocks, shown above, from the modern-day comfort of their homes via the world wide web. Of course, we're referring to Stonehenge! English Heritage will be live streaming for free on their digital channels the sunrise on the morning of Dec. 21. Reminder: They are posting times in GMT [Greenwich Mean Time], which is 5 hours ahead of our EST [Eastern Standard Time]. Visit the official Stonehenge or English Heritage Facebook pages, or the English Heritage YouTube channel. Please beware of fake Facebook pages, events and groups that might have been set up and never give scammers your credit card details.
Below is a photo that includes the actual solstice sundial boulder in the forefront, which marks sunrise and sunset on the solstices.
Beyond that, we're looking at the usual [we hope] winter hazards -- ice, snow, wind, cold, etc. So let's all be careful out there!
Old Farmer's Almanac
Region 7
The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts a winter season of chilly overall, with snowier spells mostly to the east [which is where this area falls on their map, see above] for the Ohio Valley [Region 7, if you choose to check for yourself. Scroll waaaaay down!] with colder than normal temperatures, below-normal precipitation but near to above-normal snowfall in the east. They say the coldest periods will occur mid- to late-December [We can vouch for the validity of the mid-December cold!], early January, late January into early February, then again in mid-March. Snowfall near to above normal in the east [again, that's us!], with the snowiest periods in late December, early January, then early and late February.
They also suggest it's a good idea to prep snow gear early, especially for eastern areas [again, us] likely to see more flakes.
Worried about an upcoming winter weather event? Need to make sure you've got everything under control? There's plenty of good information available on line. Below are a handful of links:
Let's start with the National Weather Service.
Department of Homeland Security's site covers snowstorms & extreme cold.
OSHA covers how to plan, equip, train for winter weather. Information is good for individuals as well as businesses.
The CDC covers preparation to stay safe and healthy in winter.
Thanks to the Shirley Volunteer Fire Department, Earl Yost and Kevin Z. Smith for use of their photos.