Summer starts today, but what does that mean for us?
Summer starts today, but what does that really mean for us? In this part of the world, not much.
1 - It's the longest day of the year, right?
The solstice happens today at 6:34 p.m. EDT. That is the point where the sun makes it farthest journey north into our hemisphere.
Over the Tropic of Cancer, they will see the longest day of the year, but for us, longest days are old news.
We're already seeing our days with the most sunlight. From June 15th, through the 26th, we get 14 hours and 35 minutes of sunlight each and every day!
2 - So let's look at temps; the first day of summer means hotter days, right? Sort of.
We've already had some scorchers. After a cool May, the end of spring has felt more like summer. We've had seven 90 degree plus days so far, we usually average 8, so we are on target to go above average for the month. We usually get the most 90 degree days in July, so the summer heat will be with us for a while.
3 - A hot summer means a cold winter, doesn't it? Nope. There are several elements we look at for forecasting winter like ocean temps and circulation, global wind patterns, etc.
Some of these we really don't start looking at until late fall.
Though I've already had emails asking what type of winter it will be, the short answer is: I don't know. Not yet, anyway ... ;)
