I’ve mentioned “meteorological summer” before: June, July, August. This is handy for record-keeping and so all of the meteorological seasons start and end from the first day of a month to the last day of a month. How do we get away with that? Read on!
After all, isn’t Summer OFFICIALLY starting on Saturday at 4:44 p.m. CDT when the summer solstice occurs? This certainly sounds official as the sun reaches its most northern point in the sky having crossed the equator to the Tropic of Cancer (which I think was the name of my mom’s suntan lotion back in the 70s).
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Because the Earth tilts on its axis 23.5°, this imaginary Tropic of Cancer line is 23.5° north of the Equator. Below are the two lines for you to compare, the equator is first.
So the solstice marks the sun’s most northern point during the year, nicely illustrated in this photo:
Longer days, shorter nights, heat. Summer, right? The solstice is a nice marking point for that. Stonehenge claims the solstice as more than just a nice marking point for summer, but a revered moment in time. Those stones were placed precisely so the sun could break through as the solstice occurs. Tens of thousands of people show up every year to witness this event in person. But not this year.
However, you can witness a streaming solstice! From the Stonehenge Facebook page, get ready for an on-the-couch experience like no other! Here is the link!
Finally, meteorologists and astronomers use their preferred timing with calendars and stars, while others just use “warmer” periods. The Irish calendar marks summer from May 1 to August 1. In Chinese astronomy, summer starts May 5 and ends August 6 while in southeast Asia summer is generally the monsoon season from March to June! And culturally, we often mark Memorial Day to Labor Day as summer in America while Canada starts summer on Victoria Day! So, you see, there is no “official” agreed upon timing for summer (or any other season for that matter).
Me, I just use the date I can get in the pool to the date I can’t. When do you start summer? I’ll have a poll going on my Facebook page!
Have a great weekend. I’m off for a few days starting Friday. When I blog again, I’ll be 60!
Cheers,
Frank