It may be hard to believe, but the first day of summer 2020 is nearly here.
What time is the summer solstice?
The June solstice occurs when the Earth’s north pole reaches its maximum tilt toward the sun. This puts the sun high in the sky and gives us the most hours of daylight, at least in the northern hemisphere. It’s the shortest day for those south of the equator.
In 2020, the solstice will happen at 5:43 p.m. Saturday.
The day is usually celebrated with a variety of rituals around the world, including a sunrise celebration at Stonehenge in England. This year, with the coronavirus preventing large gatherings, the English Heritage Facebook page will stream sunrise and sunset ceremonies live.
The sunset event on Saturday will be 9:26 p.m. British time, or 4:26 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The sunrise will be 4:52 a.m. Sunday British time, or 11:52 p.m. Saturday Eastern Daylight Time.
What is the longest day of the year?
On Saturday, the sun will rise at 5:31 a.m. and set at 8:36 p.m. in the Lehigh Valley, giving us 15 hours, 4 minutes and 54 seconds of daylight.
The days have been getting longer since the winter solstice, the first day of the 2019-20 winter on Dec. 21, when there was only 9 hours, 15 minutes and 58 seconds of daylight.
There were roughly equal hours of day and night at the spring equinox on March 19. That will happen again during the autumnal equinox Sept. 22, the first day of fall, and the days will continue to get shorter until the next winter solstice, which is again on Dec. 21.
First day of summer 2020
The June solstice is considered the first day of astronomical summer. The season continues for 93 days until the autumnal equinox.
We’re already a few weeks into meteorological summer, however. People who study the weather consider summer to be from the start of June to the end of August.
Summer 2020 weather forecast
What will Lehigh Valley weather look like this summer? The next three months have a decent chance of being hotter and rainier than usual in our region, according to the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center.
Seasonal forecasts are notoriously tricky, but AccuWeather predicts a slower, rainier start to the season in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
Overall, however, the State College-based weather forecaster says the season will likely be hotter than 2019, especially later and possibly persisting into September, though long, record-breaking stretches of heat are unlikely.
In an average year, the Lehigh Valley can expect 17 days of 90 degrees or hotter, according to National Weather Service data, though it can range from as little as one day (1960) to 41 (1966). We have already had one so far in 2020.
The weather service defines a heatwave in our area as three or more consecutive days of 90-plus degree highs. Usually, the Lehigh Valley only gets a handful a year – there were four heatwaves in 2019; 2016 had the most with seven. Some years never record a single heatwave.
And, well, let’s just get this out of the way now: The hottest day ever in the Lehigh Valley was a steamy 105 degrees on July 3, 1966. Let’s hope we don’t have to revisit that particular stat anytime soon.
Steve Novak may be reached at email@example.com.