Since the Chicago area saw measurable snow over the weekend, many are wondering when the winter season will officially begin.
The answer might be longer than many think.
Chicago typically sees its first trace of snowfall on Oct. 31, and that is exactly what happened this year, as the city measured 0.9 inches of snow on Halloween.
The city typically sees its first snowfall of 1 inch or more on Dec. 7, according to data from 1991 through 2020. This year, the area saw just under 2 inches of snow on Nov. 26, the NBC 5 Storm Team reported.
But despite the early snowfall, the actual start of winter is still off in the distance.
According to NASA, the winter solstice this year will take place in the morning hours of Dec. 21 in the United States. That will also be the shortest day of the year in the city of Chicago, with roughly nine hours, seven minutes and 44 seconds of daylight.
The earliest sunset of the year will actually take place in early December, with the sun dipping below the horizon at 4:19 p.m. on multiple days, according to official sources.
The latest sunrise of the season will take place while days are technically getting longer, with the sun coming above the horizon at 7:18 a.m. on several days in early January.
While it will take quite a while for noticeable changes to the length of days, the good news is that by the end of January, Illinois will be seeing nearly 10 hours of daylight again, with sunset occurring after 5 p.m.
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