Perhaps I give this far too much thought. But, I really dislike winter.

I maintain, along with C.S. Lewis, that winter---that is, winter within small parts of Group C and all of Group D and E of the Köppen climate classification---is a result of the Fall. Lewis' Narnia, of course, during the rule of the White Witch and prior to Aslan's sacrificial act, serves as an example of a world in the grips of the distortions of sin. Only through the salvation he brings is the creation returned to its original state. Lewis' connection of winter with evil is not only his perspective; such a view is also maintained in Norse mythology in the period of Fimbulwinter.

When Christ returns to renew the creation (Rom. 8:20-22), winter will cease to exist. For, a world free of death, pain, and suffering (Rev. 21:4) cannot include a season that causes such things. The Genesis record does not mention the original climate in creation, but the natural state of Adam and Eve (Gen. 2:25) in the garden indicates that winter would have caused them suffering, thus negating the paradisaical nature of the original creation. As the Garden of Eden prefigures the new earth, we can expect that new earth to be characterized by a perfect level of physical comfort when Christ establishes his Kingdom for eternity at his second coming.

Nevertheless, God reveals his goodness amidst the ugliness of this sin-distorted world, even in the harshness of winter. When a fresh blanket of soft white snow covers the ground, before the pollutants in the air and the salt and grime of the roads defile it, we are reminded of our redemption through the atoning work of Christ that washes away our sin (Ps. 51:7). Also, it reminds us of the good nature of our God, as the symbolical nature of his appearance is described in Scripture (cf. Matt. 28:3, and Rev. 1:14).

Of course, all the unnatural climates of the world can be attributed to the grip of sin on creation. However, if Dante's metaphorical circles of hell, arranged concentrically with a gradual increase in wickedness, are any indication, then the culmination of wickedness found in the ninth circle demonstrate that the greatest degree of sin is found in the frigid and frozen character of winter.