WeatherWhys for January 2,2015 from accuweather.com

The Earth reaches its closest position to the sun, known as perihelion, this weekend. However, the Northern Hemisphere is not basking in warmth but is instead in the midst of winter. The reason has to do with the tilt of the Earth's axis. During the winter, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun with all the sun's rays more focused on the Southern Hemisphere.