Summer is Actually Coming

Summer Arrives One Day Early!
Yahooooooo
Get out the bar-b-cue and beer!

In Canada and the rest of the northern hemisphere, the first day of the summer season is the day of the year when the Sun is farthest north (on June 21st or 22nd). This day is known as the summer solstice.

I have searched several websites to determine the exact time it occurs for the Pacific time zone, and the best information I could find was that summer offcially arrives on June 20 at 16:59 or 4:59pm today.

So if that time is accurate, you might want to get out the suntan oil and head for the beach after supper!

So why is it summer really? Read on....

The declination of the Sun on the summer solstice is known as the tropic of cancer (23° 27'). In the southern hemisphere, winter and summer solstices are exchanged so that the summer solstice is the day on which the Sun is farthest south.

A common misconception is that the earth is further from the sun in winter than in summer. Actually, the Earth is closest to the sun in December which is winter in the Northern hemisphere.

As the Earth travels around the Sun in its orbit, the north-south position of the Sun changes over the course of the year due to the changing orientation of the Earth's tilted rotation axes. The dates of maximum tilt of the Earth's equator correspond to the summer solstice and winter solstice, and the dates of zero tilt to the vernal equinox and autumnal equinox.

The reason for these changes has to do with the Earth's yearly trip around the sun. For part of the year the Earth's North Pole points away from the sun and part of the time toward it. This is what causes our seasons. When the North Pole points toward the sun, the sun's rays hit the northern half of the world more directly. That means it is warmer and we have summer.

The day of the summer solstice is the longest day of the year. The length of time elapsed between sunrise and sunset on this day is a maximum for the year.

The forecast graphic was copied from the Weather Network site which you can visit by using this Nanaimo Info LINK.