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Kite surfer ends his day with a sunset and a walk in the river.
Credit: Michelle Novak
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EmailSummer begins in the Northern Hemisphere on June 20, 2012, at 7:09 P.M. (EDT). Here’s more about the first day of summer—the summer solstice—plus, facts, folklore, and some sensational summer photos!
See when each season starts for 2012 and 2013.
The Summer Solstice
Everyone loves summer! Filled with trips to the beach, sunny skies, and lazy days, summer is the time of year when the weather gets its warmest.
The word solstice comes from the Latin words for "sun" and "to stop," due to the fact that the Sun appears to stop in the sky. The Sun is directly overhead at its most northern point at "high-noon" on the summer solstice, creating more sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere on this day then any other.
On the solstice, we also hit the longest day of the year. From here on out, the days begin to get shorter.
See your local Sun rise and set times—and how the day length changes!
Questions and Answers About Summer
Question: Why isn’t the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, also the hottest day of the year?
Answer: The reason why July and August are generally hotter than June, the month containing the summer solstice, is that it takes a while for Earth to heat up. There is a lag time between sunlight being produced and it actually hitting Earth. Earth’s surface and atmosphere continue to receive energy from the Sun, even though the minutes of daylight are decreasing, and average temperatures will continue to rise until the Sun’s position in relation to Earth lowers and sunlight is hitting Earth less directly. That’s why we are all holed up in our air-conditioned living rooms in late July rather than June.
Alabama's Dog Dayz of Summer by carntribe
Question: Speaking of summer, how about those mosquito bites? Is it true that garlic works against mosquitoes?
Answer: Since those pesky little buggers are masters of adaptation, there is really no way to know for sure, but it’s worth a shot. People have tried eating slivered garlic before they go outside, smearing garlic juice directly on their skin, and taking garlic tablets. Pet owners will put a small clove of garlic in a piece of meat in order to ward off fleas. If you get bitten, people swear by rubbing garlic or onion or even radish juice on the bite to stop the itching.
Signs of Summer
Temperatures rise, the water levels in ponds, lakes, and rivers drop, and lightning bugs brighten the night sky. Nature’s efforts in the spring to fully bloom prove fruitful as the green leaves of various trees shake and rattle in the cool summer breezes and flowers grace every gardener’s garden. It’s also the time of year that is notorious for all sorts of bothersome pests. Mosquitoes, horseflies, and ticks attack our arms and legs, while squirrels, slugs, and innumerable numbers of bugs attack our gardens. See our Pests & Problems page.
You can track when the seasons change by recording animal behaviors and the way that the plants grow. Listen to the new sounds and observe what you hear and see.
How do you know that summer is coming? Share your comment below!
Summer Folklore and Verse
Deep snow in winter, tall grain in summer.–Estonian proverb
When the summer birds take their flight, goes the summer with them.
If it rains on Midsummer's Eve, the filbert crops will be spoiled.–Unknown
One swallow never made a summer.
Easterly winds from May 19 to the 21 indicate a dry summer.
If there are many falling stars during a clear summer evening, expect thunder. If there are none, expect fine weather.
Sensational Summer Photos
Our eCards are great photographs to send to family and friends. Check out our full Summer eCard Gallery!
Pete Miksich Send as eCard!
Peggy Stenglein Send as eCard!
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Please share—what are the signs of summer you see?
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Comments
Signs of Summer - contribues
Signs of Summer - contribues to a peaking of natural systems. Heat this year seems a little early but there are records that say that is not unusual and sets no records. Snow is a little late since some flooding is now happening in the mid-west and upper Mississippi Valley, contrary to opinion that flood is not nearly over. Piled dirt does not a levee make, it takes aged piled dirt with roots and natural compaction to hold back water, got to be there long enough to mature some or we are just plain lucky when it works and is a new pile of dirt. Every things else is in vain. I suspect all animals and plants have sense to know summer soltice where ever they are and that intelligence or wisdom is handed down from generation to generation in every species with exception, humans, we don't seem to learn from practice or experience, animals and plants have seen success or mortality of their current nesting fruiting attampts and know time is running out for them in relation to have a successful nesting with a living healthy chick or young or seed for next season and that food, some of this seasons new growth, will become a little more scarce with change in atmosphere and climate rotations, having been eaten as a young or maturing enough to hid, fight back or jsut out run others oong neough to grow up some. It is when plants, arid and aquatic should be matured or fruiting if they are going to repopulate with enough excess to foster a new generation that must wait for a freeze or some kind of reinstituation of vitality to grow anew again. Plants and animals like us have a sense of night, day, cold, hot and in between; wet, dry, windy and calm, bright sun, cloudy, raining, drought, and adjust commonly and intuititively. They use it like we use it, they for life processes, we for work, play, good, bad and in between reasons however they like God said subdue it,, he didn't say kill it all, but enough to get by. Humans do more to quell nature: making hot when it is cold, making cold when it is hot, wet where water should not be, us where it is unhospitable and us where it is unethecial, killing out of anget and sickness and when not hungry. We do this in church, halls of congress, in or out of uniform, in our homes, bedrooms and living places, in our use of things and in our behavior.
Summer soltice is any other day that is naturally hot in most places on this side and on the other end of earth, winter soltice, is cold in most places. Luckly the deviding line is the equator where weather and climate is made, even the cold ends of earth is the result of what happens near the center of earth and is possibly driven due to rotation of earth , that centrificual rotation that spins every thing aerodinamicly and the only fully established method of energy and force of a natural claim to sustainablity, it spins floational and air bornes out as far as it can go making kenetic energy that does drive climate and atmosphere and from that we get all our variables in summer, winter, and climate exchanges making weather. One of two most important days in our rotation, the other one winter soltice. How lucky can we get.
I live in Arizona. When the
I live in Arizona. When the temperatures are going to heat up above 110 degrees, the little red ants get VERY busy and aggressive. They furiously build new nests and attack anything that moves near the entrance. The rest of the year they are hardly noticeable.
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