Winter is here: 5 facts about the season

Monday is the official first day of winter, though a glance out the window will tell you the season is already here.

Here are a few winter facts and stats so you can start the season informed:

9 hours, 16 minutes and 58 seconds

That is how much daylight to expect in the Pittsburgh region today, which is the winter solstice — the shortest, darkest day of the year. Sunrise is expected at 7:39 a.m., with sunset at 4:56 p.m.

Days then will start to get longer until the summer solstice in June. On Tuesday, there will be a whopping three seconds of extra daylight.

23.5 degrees

That is how much the Earth is tilted on its axis relative to its orbit around the sun. The winter solstice occurs when the North Pole is tilted as far away from the sun as it can. Meanwhile, the South Pole is tilted as close to the sun as it will be all year, marking the start of summer for those in the Southern Hemisphere.

Nov. 14

That’s the average date for the Pittsburgh region’s first snow, according to the National Weather Service. The solstice may be the official start of winter, but yinzers know the season rarely waits for the calendar. Winter weather also lingers well after the start of spring in March. The last snow of the season falls April 7 on average.

700,000 tons

That’s how much salt PennDOT had at the start of the season. The agency also employs about 4,700 road workers who drive some 2,200 plow trucks. They’ve got plenty of ground to cover. The state maintains nearly 40,000 miles of road.

151

The number of crashes last year in Pennsylvania related to the weather. Driving on icy roads can be fatal. Of those crashes, 3 people died and other 81 were injured, according to PennDOT.