The winter solstice has arrived. Will storm signals emerge with the change in season?

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — For those who love winter or hate it, the date of Dec. 21 begs the question: Is the glass half empty, or half full?

On this night, at 10:27 p.m. EST, we’ll begin the winter solstice north of the equator and the summer solstice south of it.

In the north, it means we’ll have our shortest day and longest night of the year. For many snow lovers it’s a pivotal moment marking the change in season.

After all, the Earth’s tilt is not only the cause of seasonal variation, but influences the differences in temperature between seasons.

Snow lovers hope that as temperatures begin a shift to more seasonal norms, it will drum up a conveyor belt of storms that will blanket the Lehigh Valley in a way that we haven’t seen in years.

On the flip side…

The glass-half-empty folks are sure to argue that we’re already three weeks into meteorological winter, and the weather hasn’t exactly been fitting for the season.

Meteorological winter began on Dec. 1 and runs through March 1 in the northern hemisphere, but so far, the area is trending above average in terms of temperature, and has nothing at all to show in the way of snowfall.

Lehigh Valley International Airport — data collection point of the National Weather Service — has recorded a "trace" of snow five times so far this month.

It means that falling snow has continually melted as it lands, with accumulation never reaching 0.1 of an inche.

On a website designated for the region’s preliminary local climatological data, a trace is indicated by a capital letter “T” or the word “trace” in place of a numerical amount of accumulation.

We’re not alone

So far this month, the Lehigh Valley has endured a couple of super soaker events, with more than a month’s worth of rain falling Dec. 17-18.

As of Thursday morning, 6.10 inches of rain have been recorded at the airport — some 3.47 inches above average.

Using a general ratio of 10:1 (10 inches of snow for every one inch of rain), the Lehigh Valley might still be digging out if the latest storm had been white and not wet.

The latest guidance also indicates a storm targeting the area around Dec. 27 that could bring another rainy mess — again leaving the snow-starved Lehigh Valley pining for any accumulation.

But we’re far from alone.

Many major Northeast cities have been in the headlines recently for enduring record-long waits for significant snowfall over the past two winters.

According to CNN, six major cities — including Philadelphia and New York City — have waited nearly 700 days to see an inch of snow fall in a day.

And historically snowy cities such as Boston have waited nearly as long to see 3 inches.

A pattern change ahead?

“We’re going to have some cooler temperatures coming in to end the month and to begin January,” EPAWA meteorologist Bobby Martrich said in his latest video update.

“The transition day is going to be the 28th, so that’s maybe where we start off the day warmer and turn cooler as a trough moves in later in the day,” he said.

He said temperatures should stay near to slightly below average for a couple days through early January.

Martrich said he’d be keeping an eye on a storm signal as we get into the first week of January.

“That time of year you really don’t need temperatures cooler than average to produce snow, necessarily, because you’re already at annual climatological minimums for the year.”