Happy winter solstice: Longer days ahead in Seattle

It's all uphill from here.

Tuesday marks 2021's winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. Though Seattleites will only have 8 hours and 25 minutes of daylight according to the National Weather Service, it also means days will start getting longer.

The solstice also marks the official beginning of the winter season, which will begin at 7:59 a.m. PST.

Seasons are caused by the Earth being tilted on its rotational axis around the sun. Summer occurs in the hemisphere tilted toward the sun, and winter occurs in the hemisphere tilted away from the sun. The Northern Hemisphere is currently tilted away from the sun, hence we experience winter.

Now that it's officially winter, each day will grow longer and the nights shorter until the summer solstice.

On Wednesday, will have two seconds more daylight than Tuesday with each day getting progressively longer until the longest day of the year, the summer solstice which will happen on June 21 at 5:13 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. 

Even though Seattle's dark days of winter might not feel any lighter, the hours of daylight are increasing and we're on our way to spring. 

MORE SEATTLE NEWS: 

• Have you tried all 26 of these iconic Seattle bites?
• Seattle and Tacoma among 50 most competitive rental markets in 2021
• 3 Washington cities rank in top 50 US places for beer drinkers; Seattle didn't take the top spot
• Seattle’s best new restaurants, bars and pop-ups of 2021