Winter Solstice Marks Shortest Day of Year

Baltimore (WJZ) - Today's Winter Solstice in Maryland occurred at 5:44 a.m., when the Earth's axis is tilted furthest away from the sun. It marks the beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere and is the shortest day of the year and longest night in terms of daylight.

Officials say that is just under 9 and a half hours today.

After today, the length of daylight in the northern hemisphere will gradually grow longer each day until the summer solstice in late June, when the greatest amount of daylight occurs.

The solstice marks the beginning of the astronomical winter, which is different than the meteorological winter. However, meteorologist consider December, January and February "winter".
Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook