Winter is officially here but it's not feeling like it

Happy Winter Solstice! The season officially kicks off with the solstice at 9:27 PM Thursday evening to kick off the coldest and snowiest season of the year. 

On the solstice we hit our shortest amount of daylight for the year with exactly nine hours of daylight expected Thursday. The sunrise Thursday will be 7:19 AM and the sunset is at 4:19 PM. 

Even though it is the start to the coldest time of year, this December has been mild! The average temperature so far this December of 38.5* is the fifth warmest start to December on record. 

And the warmth isn't going anywhere. Highs through at least the middle of Christmas Week will be above average in the low to middle 40s to end this week then 50s on the way for the Christmas holiday. Christmas Eve looks to be the warmest at least in the middle 50s.

Download the CBS 58 Ready Weather app to track the temps through New Year's Eve!