winter

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Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

winter in the southern Ural Mountains

What causes the seasons?

Understand how the tilted rotation of Earth's axis gives more prominent full moon in winter than in summer

The video thumbnail shows a small squirrel peeking out of a snowy bank, with a blue circle surrounding it.

What is the significance of the winter solstice?

Read Next

Flower. Fruit tree. Cherry. Cherry tree. Cherry blossom. Spring. Close-up of cherry blossoms in bloom.

The Perils of an Early Spring

Calendar marking march 15th

22 Questions About Time and Timekeeping Answered

beekeeping. bumblebee. bee. Nest has queen, drones (males), and worker bees feed hatched larva and seal cells with wax. Honey bees, honeybees colony. Beehive, beeswax, honeycomb, brood. insect

Where Do Honeybees Go in the Winter?

Calendar showing the month of February

Why Are There Only 28 Days in February?

Colorful winter sunset

What's the Difference Between a Solstice and an Equinox?

Discover

Remarkable new details of Pluto's largest moon Charon are revealed in this image from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken late on July 13, 2015 from a distance of 289,000 miles

Why Is Pluto No Longer a Planet?

Vietnam War. U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson awards the Distinguished Service Cross to First Lieutenant Marty A. Hammer, during a visit to military personnel, Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam, October 26, 1966. President Johnson

Vietnam War Timeline

Chapter 4 pg 42 - Chapter header of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Published in 1884 by The American Publishing Company

Periods of American Literature

In this aerial photo, structures are damaged and destroyed October 15, 2005 in Balakot, Pakistan. It is estimated that 90% of the city of Balakot was leveled by the earthquake. The death toll in the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck northern Pakistan on October 8, 2005 is believed to be 38,000 with at least 1,300 more dead in Indian Kashmir. SEE CONTENT NOTES.

6 of the World’s Deadliest Natural Disasters

Attack on Pearl Harbor. December 7, 1941. Pearl Harbor infographic. World War II. Hawaii. United States. Japan. SPOTLIGHT VERSION

Attack on Pearl Harbor Timeline

The Lost Colony of Roanoke, North Carolina, where 115 people mysteriously disappeared c. 1590. John White discovers the word Croatoan carved onto a tree upon his return to the deserted Roanoke Colony in 1590

The Lost Colony of Roanoke

earthquake. Heavily damaged school in the town of Yingxiu after a major earthquake struck China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008.

The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes Since 1950

winter: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Winter's next wave of storms takes aim at the East Coast • Feb. 19, 2025, 1:39 PM ET (AP)

Facts

Also Known As	hiemal period

Photos and Videos

winter in the southern Ural Mountains

What causes the seasons?

Understand how the tilted rotation of Earth's axis gives more prominent full moon in winter than in summer

The video thumbnail shows a small squirrel peeking out of a snowy bank, with a blue circle surrounding it.

What is the significance of the winter solstice?

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

calendar polar vortex volcanic winter nuclear winter year winter solstice season autumn summer spring monsoon

Quiz

Iceland, Glacier lagoon (Jokulsarlon)

Winter Weather Words Quiz

List

Calendar marking march 15th

22 Questions About Time and Timekeeping Answered

Demystified

beekeeping. bumblebee. bee. Nest has queen, drones (males), and worker bees feed hatched larva and seal cells with wax. Honey bees, honeybees colony. Beehive, beeswax, honeycomb, brood. insect

Where Do Honeybees Go in the Winter?