Summer Solstice 2020: Facts to Know About the Longest Day of the Year

Brian Donegan

Published: June 18, 2020

The summer solstice arrives Saturday, June 20, at 5:44 p.m. EDT, marking the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

(MORE: A Fascinating New Way to Define the Seasons)

Though some portions of the United States have already dealt with plenty of warmth during the spring, astronomically speaking, summer does not officially begin until the solstice. Here's what you need to know about this event.

The Earth's orientation relative to the sun at the summer solstice, with the most direct solar radiation over the Tropic of Cancer.

First of all, note that the Earth spins on an axis tilted 23.5 degrees from the Earth's orbit around the sun.

As a result, the most direct sunlight shifts between a band of latitudes on the Earth throughout the year, providing the change of seasons we know in the middle and higher latitudes.

At solar noon on Saturday, the sun will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer, a line of latitude located at 23.5 degrees north of the equator.

During the summer, the Northern Hemisphere receives the most direct sunlight because it is tilted toward the sun.

(MORE: Why Seasons Aren't the Same to Meteorologists As the Rest of Us)

Think of the summer solstice as the exact moment each year when the North Pole is most directly oriented toward the sun. According to NASA, the North Pole receives 30 percent more incoming solar radiation than the equator on the solstice.

The orientation of the Earth relative to the sun at the summer solstice, autumnal equinox, winter solstice and vernal equinox.

The sun will be at its highest point in the sky at solar noon (1:22 p.m. EDT) on Saturday for areas north of the Tropic of Cancer. These locations will experience their greatest amount of daylight of any day of the year.

For example, in Seattle (latitude of 47.5 degrees), the sun will rise at 5:11 a.m. local time Saturday and won't set until 9:10 p.m. That's a total of roughly 16 hours of daylight.

In Key West, Florida (latitude of 24.5 degrees), the sun will rise at 6:39 a.m. local time and set at 8:18 p.m. – a total of 13 hours and 39 minutes of daylight.

(MORE: 2020 Summer Temperature Outlook)

Alaska-based climatologist Dr. Brian Brettschneider (blog) constructed a handy map on his Alaska Climate Info Facebook page showing how much daylight you'll see in the U.S. during the summer solstice.

How much daylight you'll see in the U.S. on the summer solstice. This does not include twilight hours.

Along the Arctic Circle, at roughly 66.6 degrees north latitude, the sun doesn't set on the summer solstice. Instead, the sun takes a circular path as the Earth rotates.

Soon after the summer solstice, the length of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere will gradually shorten each day until the winter solstice in December, when the shortest amount of daylight occurs.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.