It's fall. But Christmas decorations and bags of rock salt popping up in stores serve as a reminder that winter isn't too far away. The winter solstice comes about three months after the autumnal ...

Yes the darkest day of the year is here, but that means brighter days are ahead. Sunday is the shortest day of the year north of the equator, where the solstice marks the start of astronomical winter.

Although temperatures have been dropping for weeks, winter doesn’t officially begin until Saturday. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.