Summer officially starts Friday morning

ROANOKE, Va. – While we've already reached 90° ten times in Roanoke this year, summer officially begins Friday morning at 11:54. Why the precise timing?

This is the moment that the sun appears directly over the Tropic of Cancer at 23.5°N Latitude - the summer solstice. It's because of that that we see the most of amount of daylight on the solstice (and have for the past several days). 

On Friday, we receive 14 hours, 44 minutes of daylight. 

Even by early September, we have close to 13 hours of daylight. By the first day of fall, we're at about 12 hours of daylight. 

So yes, we lose daylight this season. Let's not focus on that, though. 

Hope that whatever the season brings you, be it travel or other activities, that you have a safe and happy summer!