For those of you whose moods deepen as the day’s sunlight wanes, hope is on the way.

Today marks the day of the winter solstice, where the sun appears at its lowest point in the Northern Hemisphere, producing the shortest day (actually it’s tied this year with five other December days) and longest night of the year, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory.

The exact time of the solstice was 1:08 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

The winter solstice has been greeted with joyous celebration since prehistoric times because after the astronomical event (usually Dec. 21 or 22), days slowly grow longer.

Rhode Island gains 51 minutes of light by the end of January, according to National Weather Service daily sun statistics.

Quarterly sunlight events (winter and summer solstices and the spring and fall equinoxes) mark solar variations with comforting consistency that often belie the increasingly erratic weather patterns that often blur the transitions from season to season.

The state has seen its share of weather highlights — and lowlights — this year.

The year is on track to be the state’s 13th warmest on record, which goes back to 1880. Nationwide, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration expects 2007 to be the eighth warmest year on record. Worldwide, NOAA says it will probably be the fifth warmest.

An unusual warm spell last January with temperatures ranging more than 60 degrees confused some flowering plants, causing them to bloom prematurely and brought hibernating animals out of their winter slumbers.

The average monthly high temperature in Rhode Island in January was 41.9 degrees, a 4.8-degree departure from temperatures over the last century. It didn’t cool down as much overnight either, with low temperatures averaging 26.3, or 6 degrees over average.

Late nature writer and Journal contributor Ken Weber described seeing bullfrogs, ducks, ticks and other usually-absent species cavorting as if it was spring in mid-January.

January saw 21 days of above average temperatures followed by an unseasonably cold February. Mean high and low temperatures lowered to 34.8 and 19.3 degrees respectively, about a 7-degree difference from the balmy highs and lows witnessed in the previous month.

Although the state experienced a dry summer and fall, annual precipitation is still above average at 41.64 inches for the first 11 months of the year.

Even after factoring in December’s rain and snowfall, the state will not likely match the wet years of 2005 and 2006, at 56.17 and 55.33 inches respectively.

The Scituate Reservoir, which supplies water to about two-thirds of the state, is 14 feet below capacity at 270 feet, and 15 feet lower than the same time last year.

The water level is not a serious cause of concern right now, says Richard Blodgett, manager of environmental resources at the Providence Water Supply Board, and will likely replenish this year’s drop when the snow pack melts by June of next year at the latest.

The Water Supply Board doesn’t issue a drought advisory until the reservoir drops below 70-percent capacity, or 198.8 feet, but Blodgett says his agency is still watching the water supply closely.

Rhode Island weather broke five records this year, the most notable being the record snowfall on a single day in December.

The snowstorm that hit New England on Dec. 13 dropped 8.2 inches on the state, almost double the existing record of 4.3 inches set in 1942.

ngarcia@projo.com