ST. LOUIS – The summer solstice is nearly upon us. Many know it as the change from spring to summer. It’s also the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
During the summer solstice, the northern hemisphere is tilted as close to the sun as possible. This causes the United States to experience its longest period of daylight and shortest period of darkness compared to any other given day in the calendar year.
This year’s summer solstice, officially set for Thursday at 3:51 p.m. CT, is technically the earliest solstice in more than 200 years. Usually, the occurrence falls on July 21. This sets the stage for the observance one day earlier.
During the summer solstice, some places in the contiguous United States could see almost 16 hours of daylight. Some parts of Alaska may see around 22 hours of daylight.
How much daylight will St. Louis see?
According to TimeAndDate.com, St. Louis has a sunrise of 5:36 a.m. and a sunset of 8:28 p.m. on the day of the summer solstice.
This means St. Louis will see around 14 hours and 52 minutes of daylight on Thursday.
What to expect after the summer solstice?
As the summer solstice settles in, each day moving forward will proceed with less daylight until we reach the winter solstice in late-December, when the northern hemisphere is tilted as far away from the sun as possible.
TimeAndDate.com indicates that St. Louis will see around three minutes less of daylight by the end of June compared to Thursday’s peak and more than 43 minutes less of daylight by the end of July. This trend continues downward until the winter solstice.
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