Father's Day, Solstice And Unusual Pattern
It is the longest day of the year with direct daylight amounting to 15 hours and 20 minutes which is 6 hours and 18 minutes longer than on the Winter Solstice on December 22! Despite that, the earliest sunrise occurred a week ago on June 14 and the latest sunset occurs on June 27. The sun at noon will be 70.7 degrees above the horizon versus 23.8 degrees on the Winter Solstice! The heat energy received at the surface at noon is 33% greater in June than it is in December! Solstice literally means sol or sun and stice/sistere means to stand still. This solstice is an instant in time when the North Pole points more directly toward the Sun than in any other time of the year.
Consequently, these steering currents will never deliver any hot weather so it is possible that Boston will not get its first day at 90 or higher until sometime perhaps in early July similar to last year when it hit 91 on July 2! That will, of course, disappoint some and thrill others. On average, the first day of 90 degrees for the city happens on June 8. Now, there is a very slight chance that Boston may receive a 90 tomorrow or Tuesday but that is a long shot. A 90 on Tuesday would not be a good thing because that would mean the area would be in a hot and steamy air mass with parameters to trigger nasty storms with a cold front closing in. We shall see but as you can now see, there are many features to follow in the next 1-2 weeks!
By the way, despite this bizarre jet stream pattern coming up, I am still anticipating the mean temperature for July and August to be slightly above average. With that said, I am not expecting long-lasting stretches of excessive heat and humidity but there will be some of those days in both months. Right now, it appears if the next week verifies with the above prediction, the mean temperature for June will end up a bit below average. We shall see.
Make it a great week!
Maps used in this blog are courtesy of WBZ , WSI & WeatherBell.