June 20th marks the official start of summer
Although summer temperatures have already been felt in Mid-Missouri, the official astronomical start of summer has yet to arrive.
At approximately 11:24 p.m. Tuesday, the sun will reach the highest point in the sky in the Northern Hemisphere. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun will be directly overhead at noon at the Tropics of Cancer, which is at 23.5 degrees north of the equator.
From June 20 until September 22, the Northern Hemisphere will slowly begin to tilt away from the sun, giving us shorter days in the process.
Although the summer solstice represents the peak of summer, it doesn’t necessarily mean we will see our warmest months. We typically experience our warmest months one month after the official start of summer, due to what’s called seasonal lag. The reason why this occurs has a lot to do with the atmosphere and the earth and their relationship with solar radiation.
The reason we see our hottest days well after the official start of summer is similar to a pot of water boiling. When you heat the pot of water up, the water begins to get warm and the temperature increases. Now imagine turning the heat down some. The water will still gradually heat up but more slowly.
Eventually the pot starts losing heat despite still sitting on the stove, with the burner on. This is the same process that our atmosphere undergoes. We don’t feel the hottest days of summer until the earth and oceans absorb the right amount of heat to reach equilibrium with the temperature of the atmosphere.
So for the next month or so, Mid-Missourians will have their warmest days ahead of us.
Stay tuned to ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather as we continue to update you on the latest weather changes across Mid-Missouri. You can also follow us on Twitter @ABC17Stormtrack.
