Surely The Solstice Will Be Hot?Added : Thursday at 14:15 Today is the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. You know, the longest day and the one with the most hours of sunshine before we start rolling back towards thinking about where our big jumpers are and who we are knocking off the Christmas card list this year.
You may be forgiven for thinking that the day with the most hours of sunshine would normally be the hottest or have a chance of being the hottest day of the year right? Afraid not...
The reason is what meteorologists call "Seasonal Lag". If you take a look at the chart for the Atlantic with upper air temperatures :-
You can still see some freezing air around Greenland. This is nothing unusual at this time of the year as the snow and ice around parts of Northeast Canada continue to melt in the strong summer sunshine.
Not just that, but we also have several other effects across the landmasses including snow still across the mountain peaks of the Alps :-
Whereas this is what they usually look like by the middle of August :-
The other thing is noticeable if you head to the beach today. Whilst the land is heating up nicely, the seas and oceans are still two or three months away from reaching their warmest temperatures which usually come at the start of September.
It's also why the meteorological Summer in the Northern hemisphere is June, July and August and not May, June and July which would make more sense based on the lengths of the days.
So, if you are looking outside today and thinking "Gosh! Here we are at the middle of Summer and it doesn't feel that hot!" then relax. The warmest time of the year across the UK usually comes at the start of August, so Summer has a while to go yet thanks to Seasonal Lag.
METEOROLOGIST : MARSH |