June 20th the Start of Summer, or is It?

Written By: Brian Neudorff

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice is the time when the sun is directly above the Tropic of Cancer. For Rochester, that takes place at 7:50 p.m. EDT. This is the farthest north the sun moves in the sky, which is why the length of daylight we experience is at its longest. Of course the Northern Hemisphere's summer solstice is the Southern Hemisphere's winter solstice.

You probably have heard us say from time to time that the summer solstice is the "official" beginning of summer. But, it's really the astronomical beginning. Meteorologists consider summer to be the months of June, July and August, which in terms of our weather seems to be more realistic. Meteorological fall is September, October and November; winter is December, January and February, and spring is March, April and May.