winter

Saturday is the winter solstice. Make the most of the shortest day of the year

5:01am December 20, 2024

Saturday marks the shortest day of the year and the official start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. NPR has compiled plenty of expert tips for celebrating the solstice and weathering winter.

During the winter months, American alligators go into a state of brumation, the cold-blooded version of hibernation.

Science

Texas cold leaves alligators frozen underwater, but still alive. Here's how

5:00am January 25, 2024

by Diba Mohtasham

Alligators rely on external sources to regulate their body temperatures — so during winter, they will go into brumation. A viral video captured the phenomenon during the Texas winter freeze.

Is the series of snowy storms in North America making you a little ... um ... squirrely? Well imagine if this was the first time you ever saw snow in your life! We reached out to people in the Global South and other parts to share their stories of the first time they saw snow.

In between shoveling, we asked folks from hot spots about their first time seeing snow

7:41am January 20, 2024

by Gabriel Spitzer

If snow has lost its charms for you, consider what it's like to experience it for the first time. People from the Global South and other snowless places share what it was like to discover snow.

On Yalda night, the Iranian winter solstice tradition, observers gather with family and read classic poetry aloud to greet the returning sun.

It's the winter solstice. Here are 5 ways people celebrate the return of light

2:56pm December 21, 2023

by Diba Mohtasham

Winter solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year, and it falls at exactly 10:27 p.m. ET on Thursday in the Northern Hemisphere. Here are five ways it's celebrated around the world.

A car slowly travels down a road after a second round of snow passed through northern Minnesota Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Duluth, Minn.

National

The first day of winter arrives this week, marked by the solstice

2:54am December 19, 2022

by Ayana Archie

The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, and happens when the Northern Hemisphere is pointing away from the sun.

The commander of a Territorial Defense Unit fighting in Kherson region, who goes by the name Playboy, poses for a portrait last month.

World News

With winter approaching, Ukraine prepares to fight on frozen ground

10:52am November 16, 2022

The coming winter may provide Ukraine with more opportunities to retake land from Russia, Western military analysts say. It will also bring a change in battlefield tactics.

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A winter storm with record snowfall slammed into the Mid-Atlantic states, stranding thousands of motorists overnight on 50 miles of I-95 in Virginia.

National

The Mid-Atlantic and Northeast are bracing for several more inches of snow

9:31pm January 06, 2022

by Jaclyn Diaz

Heavy snow rolled through Tennessee and Kentucky on Thursday, and was expected to hit several states across the northeast next.

People walk their dogs along a narrow road as the first winter frost blankets the fields in Oudeland van Strijen in the Netherlands on Tuesday. It's the shortest day of the year and official start of winter.

It's the shortest day of the year. Things can only get brighter from here

10:44am December 21, 2021

by Rachel Treisman

Tuesday is the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. That means from now till June, each day will be a little bit longer — and brighter. Here are some ways you can celebrate the season.

Culture

In Banner Elk, a winning woolly worm makes winter weather predictions

12:02pm October 14, 2021

by Eddie Garcia

Since 1978, a festival in North Carolina's High Country has touted being able to predict the severity of winter weather.

And it all comes down to a winning worm.

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The National Speed Skating Oval, also known as the Ice Ribbon, is the venue for speed skating events at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Opinion: Olympic Flame Of Suffering

7:54am January 30, 2021

by Scott Simon

With the Winter Olympics set for next year, NPR's Scott Simon talks about the push by some human rights groups to move the games out of Beijing.