Summer officially begins early Thursday morning

Summer starts at 6:07 a.m. Thursday

ROANOKE, Va. – Summer officially starts in the Northern Hemisphere at 6:07 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. This is when the sun appears directly over the Tropic of Cancer at 23.5 degrees north. 

This also comes directly after our second heat wave of the year in Roanoke. 

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The official start to summer is more related to our position relative to the sun than it is to our temperatures. Our hottest time of the year, on average, is June 1 through Aug 30. This is referred to as meteorological summer. 

Nonetheless, we can show you how the average high temperature changes over the course of the next three months. 

As many of you know, the peak heat of the year is typically in July. Once we get into September, our hot days become a little less numerous. 

The most amount of daylight we see is from now until June 24. Afterwards, we see less daylight as the sun then appears directly over the equator on the autumnal equinox (official start of fall).


About the Author:

Meteorologist Chris Michaels is an American Meteorological Society (AMS) Certified Broadcaster, forecasting weather conditions in southwest Virginia on WSLS 10 News from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays on Virginia Today.