Summer Solstice

Today is the first day of summer for those of us in the northern hemisphere. For the past 3 months, the sun has been moving higher in the sky and the days have gotten longer and longer. We are currently at the maximum amount of daylight. Here in Louisville, that means the sun will shine for 15 hours and 52 minutes with the sun disappearing behind the horizon at 9:41 PM. Beginning tomorrow, the days will once again begin to get shorter as we move towards autumn.

In Louisville, the sun will shine for 2 seconds less than it did today. We won't lose any time in the evening till July 4th when sunset will start to get earlier each day. Until then, the loss is measured during the morning. Aside from the miserable weather we tend to have this time of year, it really is pretty awesome having the sun hang out till almost 10. By the first day of winter, it will be dark by 5:30 in the afternoon.

Here is a nice snapshot of the longest day of the year...


In Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost American city, the sun hasn't set since May 10th and won't again till August 1st. Further south, in Fairbanks, the sun does technically set for an hour or two but it only dips slightly below the horizon and it remains daylight all night. In fact, here is a cool snapshot of the current forecast for tonight in Fairbanks where it is forecast to be MOSTLY SUNNY with isolated thunderstorms...