U.S. News
Longest Night Approaches Americans Brace for Solstice
Clear Facts
- The 2025 winter solstice arrives on Sunday, December 21 at 10:03 a.m. EST, making it the year’s shortest day and longest night in the Northern Hemisphere.
- Major cities like Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Houston will experience three to four fewer hours of daylight, while cities farther north like New York City, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, and Minneapolis will lose even more daylight, with up to seven hours less.
- Though meteorologists start winter on December 1 for records, the astronomical calendar marks the true start at the winter solstice, when Earth’s axial tilt points the Northern Hemisphere farthest from the Sun.
The days have grown shorter and the nights colder as the 2025 winter solstice nears, marking a shift for families across the country.
This year’s solstice is calculated when the Northern Hemisphere is at its furthest tilt from the Sun, an event that underscores the season’s deepening chill and longer nights.
From Miami to Seattle, daylight has been shrinking since June. Ahead of the winter solstice in two weeks, here’s how much daylight you’ve lost to later sunrises and longer nights. https://t.co/lq0SPYuXhw pic.twitter.com/6sL4Rk55Z2
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) December 7, 2025
The exact date of the solstice can vary slightly each year due to adjustments in Earth’s orbit, a fact that also explains the leap year in the calendar system.
The official start of winter, according to astronomy, is determined by Earth’s position as it moves around the Sun, which impacts how much sunlight each hemisphere receives.
One American summed up a common view:
Don’t care about the winter solstice, just quit daylight saving time and I’ll be just fine.
For many, the winter solstice carries a reminder of the natural cycles that have long shaped American life and traditions.
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