BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Summer here in Western New York and the Northern Hemisphere begins on June 20 with the arrival of the Summer Solstice.
But just exactly what IS the summer solstice, and what does that exactly mean?
Throughout history, cultures have celebrated the summer solstice with festivals and traditions often associated with themes of growth, and renewal. Scientifically, the summer solstice marks the point in the year when the Earth’s axis is tilted MOST toward the sun, resulting in the longest day and shortest night of the year. It also means that the days will gradually shorten going forward!
Intuitively, we’d think that the distance of our big blue marble to the sun would govern how we warm up. But that’s not the case! How the Earth is titled with respect to the sun is the main driver of our seasons. The distance to the sun has nothing to do with it. As summer gets going, we’re 94.5 million miles away from the sun. In January, after the winter solstice, we’re actually more than 3 million miles closer!
You may also be wondering why the warmest day on average doesn’t match up with the summer solstice. This is because of something called the seasonal temperature lag. Water absorbs a large amount of energy before it actually gets warmer due to it having a higher specific heat than land does. In other words, it physically heats up slower than the land. Water has a major influence on regulating air temperatures around the globe. As a result, some of the lowest or highest temperatures of the year take place a month after either the winter or summer solstice, and not on their actual dates.
So as you can see the summer’s warmth has nothing to do with our distance to the sun, as we’re actually FURTHER away from the sun on the day of the summer solstice than we are in winter! Got a weather question that you’d like answered? E-mail me at weather@wkbw.com, and your weather question could be the subject of Josh’s Weather Academy.
