June, June Makes Us Swoon

BY THE NUMBERS

By The Numbers, a look at what’s in the news . . . by the numbers. These are just numbers, not suggestions that they mean more or less than what they are. We do not suggest that one number is connected to another. These are simply facts with no extraneous details, bias or slanted reporting. To borrow (and perhaps mangle a bit) a quote from legendary fictional detective Joe Friday, it’s just the numbers, ma’am!

Memorial Day may be the month when summer UNOFFICIALLY begins, but June is the month when it REALLY happens. For all those warm-weather lovers out there, June is also the month where you can pretty much bet your bottom dollar that the snow is absolutely and positively done! (Yes, it CAN snow, but it’s as rare as . . . well, snow in June.) And for you cold-weather lovers, it’s one month closer to breaking out the sweater again (we don’t understand, but to each his own . . . we guess). So, with all that aside, your favorite Monday edition is over the moon, singing a tune and popping a balloon to take a look at June . . . by the numbers

30

What’s that old rhyme, thirty days hath September, April, June and November . . .  Yes, the month of June is only 30 days long.

6-21-26

We can officially wave goodbye to spring when we go to bed on Saturday, June 20. Because when MOST of us wake up to go to church Sunday, June 21 . . . it’s officially summer!

4:24 a.m.

We say MOST of us because some folks get up way before the crack of dawn. Summer officially begins at 4:24 a.m. on Sunday, June 21 this year. The bigger question is, why would anyone get up that early if they don’t have to? Then again, ask a fellow Baby Boomer and they’ll likely tell you they don’t know why, they just do. We understand.

3

Speaking of seasons, meteorologists divide the year into four seasons and so meteorological summer actually begins . . . drum roll, please . . . today! June 1 is the start of summer. Sept. 1 is the start of fall. Dec. 1 is the start of winter and . . . well, you get the drift.

23.5

The summer solstice begins when our planet’s orbit sees the North Pole at its maximum tilt of just about 23.5 degrees toward the sun. And that does not take a rocket scientist to understand that’s why it’s warmer. (Did we mention we like warm weather?)

14.5

Without going down to the nano-seconds and such, the longest day of the year is today with roughly 14.5 hours of sunlight! Good news for us, bad news for lightning bugs who have to wait up way past their bedtime.

19.5

That’s how long the sunlight lasts in Anchorage, Alaska. And of course up at the Arctic Circle, it’s just 24 hours . . . and then some!

2

Wondering how many solstices there are a year? Just two. Summer and winter. And we don’t have to worry about the cold one until Dec. 21 (at 3:49 p.m.)