December was a very wet month and we are off to another active start to January.

In December, a trace or more of rain or snow fell on 27 out of 31 days. In total we measured just under 6 inches of precitipitation in the last month of the year.

So far this month, a trace or more of precipitation has been measured on 4 out of 7 days.

If you add up all those days, we have had a trace or more of precipitation in Indianapolis on 31 out of the last 38 days!

Each month, I receive an Astronomy newsletter from Indiana University. The newsletter is called Star Trak. Here is a link: http://newsinfo.iu.edu/cat/page/normal/216.html

When you get a chance, ask your kids tonight if Earth is closer to the sun in the winter or summer. I’m predicting they will say Earth is closest when we experience the warmest temperatures.

This month’s Star Trak answers that question:

On Jan. 4, Earth will reach its closest point to the sun in its orbit, the position called perihelion. A popular misconception is that our seasons are caused by Earth’s changing distance from the sun. The actual cause is the tilt of Earth’s axis. Winter in the Northern Hemisphere happens when the North Pole is tilted away from the sun, so that sunlight must pass through a greater amount of Earth’s atmosphere to reach the surface. We experience the coldest time of year when we are closest to the sun.