| WHICH MONTHS OF THE YEAR ARE TYPICALLY COLDEST?
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METEOROLOGIST JEFF HABY
For the Northern Hemisphere, the months of January and February are typically the coldest. The reason is due to cumulative cooling and a
relatively low sun angle. It is interesting to note that the lowest sun angle occurs at the start of winter in December and by the end
of winter it is the highest it has been all winter. The coldest temperatures do not occur when the sun angle is the lowest due to
cumulative cooling. The sun angle is relatively low all winter, thus the land and water can continue to cool down through the middle
of the winter. It takes months to recover for the warm land and warm water temperatures produced from the summer season. By the start
of winter the process of cooling the land and water temperatures is continuing. By late winter in March, the sun angle is high enough
that temperatures are warmer. By March, the sun angle is starting to get high enough that cumulative cooling stops and thus the
temperatures begin to warm. Thus, the coldest months of the year for most Northern Hemisphere locations are the months of
January and February.
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