Good morning, it’s Thursday, and guess what?! It’s summer – officially speaking.
Since we’re entering the third day of 90+ degree, record-breaking heat, you’re probably thinking: Yeah, no kidding. How about some real content for a change? But weather aside, from an atmospheric science (or maybe earth science?) perspective, summer will not truly be underway until 4:51 p.m. (give or take a minute) this afternoon.
That is the scheduled time of the summer solstice, which marks the beginning of astronomical summer in the Northern Hemisphere. (By contrast, remember, in the Southern Hemisphere, seasonal equinoxes and solstices are opposed).
This comes three weeks after the beginning of meteorological summer – June 1, and, of course, recognizing that for many families, summer doesn’t officially begin until the last school bell of the year has rung, which apparently is coming a little earlier than usual because districts without sufficient (or any) classroom air conditioning are calling it quits in light of the heat.
Actually the astronomical summer itself is experiencing its earliest start since 1796, (for reference, there were only 16 states in the Union and George Washington was president), as the solstice is occurring a whole day earlier than usual.
The solstice, on average, will continue getting earlier every 4 years until 2096, which will be the earliest solstice of the century. The science behind why that is, well, it’s a little complex for a word person like me. But, it has something to do with the way the Earth orbits around the sun and the way that we, as humans, calculate time.
If you want to go deep on that, click here.
As a reminder, the summer solstice is the longest day and shortest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The exact moment of the solstice occurs when the sun is directly above the Tropic of Cancer – the circle marking the latitude 23.5 degrees north that runs through Mexico, the Bahamas, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India and southern China.
The sad thing about the summer solstice is that it marks the turning point of the season, after which the days will get progressively shorter until we hit the winter solstice – the longest night and the shortest day of the year – and then start the whole process all over again.
Winter solstice will occur in this neck of the woods on Dec. 21, 2025 at about 2 p.m. It’s still more than 500 days away, so you have ample time to prepare yourself. But, be aware that we will be losing daylight faster as we get closer to the autumnal equinox.
There are many traditional ways to celebrate the summer solstice – including bonfires, festivals, and, if you happen to be lucky enough to be in the land of the midnight sun, where the sun NEVER completely sets from early May until the end of July, nearly all-night revelries.
As I was looking into what sort of weather we should expect today, I came across a warning from the National Weather Service that I hadn’t seen before – an “airport warning.” This is usually issued for cloud-to-ground lightning detected within 5 nautical miles of the airport, but can also refer to all weather conditions that might affect an airport’s ability to conduct safe ground operations.
Ugh. No thanks.
The heat advisory is still in effect through 8 p.m. tonight, with heat index values of up to 104 degrees. Temperatures will reach well into the 90s, with mostly cloudy skies and thunderstorms developing later in the day.
In the headlines…
The atmospheric heat dome that is causing record temperatures in parts of the Northeast arrived earlier than usual, is situated farther north and is the strongest in several decades, according to weather experts.
Human-caused climate change dialed up the thermostat and turbocharged the odds of this month’s killer heat that has been baking the Southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America, a new flash study found.
Today is forecast to be the hottest day along the Interstate 95 corridor. The dome of high pressure that is causing all the record heat will then move back into the Ohio Vally by the end of the week and into the weekend.
New Yorkers flocked to park fountains and city pools to cool off yesterday, as an oppressive “heat dome” baked the Big Apple just before the official first day of summer.
As New York City enters the second day of dangerously hot weather, more than 40% of its roughly 500 designated cooling centers were to be closed yesterday due to the federal holiday of Juneteenth, according to City Comptroller Brad Lander.
Black New Yorkers continue to be more likely to die from heat-stress compared to their white counterparts, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s annual heat-related mortality report.
In the face of intense heat, experts say small daily actions — from the food, drinks or medications we ingest to how we attempt to cool down — could affect how our bodies dissipate heat.
High temperatures can make us miserable. Research shows they also make us aggressive, impulsive and dull.
More than two million people were under a tropical storm warning along the Texas Gulf Coast this morning as Tropical Storm Alberto, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, neared the coast of Mexico, bringing intense rain and storm surges.
Israel cannot defeat Hamas without installing a new administration in Gaza, the Israeli military’s chief spokesman said.
The leader of Hezbollah warned of a war “without rules or ceilings” in the event of a full-scale Israeli offensive against the Lebanese militia, as he threatened that Cyprus could become a target if it allowed Israel to use its territory in any conflict.
An IDF spokesperson cast Israel’s war aim of eradicating the Hamas terror group as currently unattainable, appearing to further underscore tensions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top defense officials over his handling of the war in Gaza.
“The idea that it is possible to destroy Hamas, to make Hamas vanish — that is throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said. “If we do not bring something else to Gaza, at the end of the day, we will get Hamas.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is unlikely to stand on the first debate stage next week, a setback that could throw him off course in his race against President Biden and former President Trump.
The presidential candidate keeps two free-minded ravens as wild pets. They’re much better behaved than his old emu, Toby, who would attack his wife, Cheryl Hines.
Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential campaign raised $2.6 million in May, according to federal filings, a figure far behind both major party candidates and one that shows its reliance on big money donors.
The campaign has previously depended heavily on contributions from Nicole Shanahan, Kennedy Jr’s vice-presidential pick, who did not make major new donations in May.
President Joe Biden leads former President Donald Trump by two points in a national poll of the presidential election published by Fox News yesterday, taking a lead for the first time since last October.
The former president has set a low bar for Biden’s performance at next week’s debate. Now, he is preparing supporters for the possibility that Biden clears it.
Senior Democrats, including some of Biden’s aides, are increasingly dubious about his theory for victory in November, which relies on voter concerns about Jan. 6, political violence, democracy and Trump’s character.
Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore tried to stamp out speculation that he could take over for Biden as the party’s presidential nominee if the incumbent is unable to continue his campaign.
The United States military has not activated a draft in more than 50 years, but Congress is weighing proposals to update mandatory conscription, including by expanding it to women for the first time and automatically registering those eligible to be called up.
The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee strongly opposes making changes to the Selective Service System that would allow men to be automatically registered for the draft when they turn 18.
Though a Senate committee approved a bill that would require women to register for the Selective Service, the bill is still far from becoming law. It must still be approved by both chambers of Congress and signed by the president.
The House Ethics Committee gave an update into its probe of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, saying it now includes whether he engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.
The federal government could soon apologize for actions that discriminated against LGBTQ government workers as far back as 1949 under a resolution filed this week by Senate Democrats.
New York’s highest court denied Trump’s bid to remove a gag order in his Manhattan “hush money” case — refuting the ex-president’s claim that being muzzled breached his constitutional rights.
Gov. Kathy Hochul should tap a special prosecutor to enforce the state’s hate crime law to punish offenders fueled by antisemitism and other types of bigotry, said her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo.
New York lawmakers passed a landmark bill to slash greenhouse gas emissions, the state has missed several of the law’s major deadlines — and it’s about to miss another.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander wants to know what sparked Hochul’s about-face on congestion pricing, and has requested a trove of documents related to the governor’s surprise decision.
Close to $1 million has been spent by PACs using names that are supportive of charter schools and the real estate industry. And most of the money is being spent to opposed candidates who are backed by the WFP or the DSA.
Democratic state Sen. John Mannion — who is hoping to flip the hotly-contested 22nd Congressional District seat — fostered a hostile work environment where he routinely berated employees and retaliated against those who spoke up, former staffers allege.
In a scathing open letter posted on Medium Monday night, several people who worked in the lefty lawmaker’s senate office described being traumatized by Mannion’s “often sexist and homophobic” harassment.
Two people in chief positions at New York’s Office of Cannabis Management were let go from their jobs last week as part of an ongoing shakeup at the beleaguered regulatory agency.
A $1.9 million audit the state ordered to analyze New York’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic falsely claimed state health officials weren’t consulted before an audit on their handling of nursing home data was released, the state comptroller’s office says.
The leader of a Black Lives Matter group in the city accused Mayor Eric Adams of blocking an annual Juneteenth celebration thrown by the organization in the South Bronx.
The NYPD’s disciplinary issues are coming to a head during the third year of tough-on-crime Adams’s administration, with complaints at their highest since 2012, stop-and-frisk encounters soaring and displays of impunity by rank-and-file officers.
The City Council is resurrecting a system to collect unpaid property taxes after a nearly three-year hiatus, adding new safeguards for vulnerable owners.
A Manhattan mom booted from a parent education council by city schools chief David Banks is seeking to be reinstated through a federal lawsuit.
A major lawsuit against racial inequality in New York City’s public schools is moving forward. Already, local districts in the city were trying different measures to diversify schools.
Mounting complaints about sexual misconduct, corruption and other potential wrongdoing in New York City public schools could pile up as the independent watchdog for the district struggles with budget constraints and staff shortages, advocates warned.
Nearly a dozen Queens residents stopped a man on the street after he was recognized as the person wanted in connection with the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl last week, according to the police. The residents then held the man until officers arrived.
Rapper Remy Ma‘s son has been charged with murdering a man in Queens in 2021, police said. Jayson Scott, 23, and a second suspect, Richard Swygert, 22, were charged with first-degree murder for the shooting death of ex-con Darius Guillebeaux, 47.
Shootings spiked in the Big Apple last week by a whopping 50% compared to the same period last year – and the number of gunshot victims spiked by an even higher margin, NYPD stats show.
A man pleaded guilty in Manhattan Criminal Court to killing a 35-year old woman in her Chinatown apartment in 2022 in an episode that intensified fears over anti-Asian attacks.
A record-shattering $23 million has been spent so far on commercials in the 16th District’s Democratic primary pitting “Squad’ Rep. Jamaal Bowman against Westchester County Executive George Latimer.
The Stratton Air National Guard Base could soon receive nearly $300 million to replace two “Skibirds,” the highly specialized planes used to fly scientific and military missions into remote parts of Antarctica and the Arctic.
A 34-year-old pilot, photographer, poet and wilderness guide, Natalie Gillis, of Calgary, was the sole victim in Monday’s plane crash.
Voters rejected the Berne-Knox-Westerlo budget again, this time by a margin of 29 votes.
GlobalFoundries has joined a U.S. Commerce Department program designed to expand the number of women in construction within the semiconductor industry just as the chipmaker is embarking on $12.1 billion in expansion projects in Vermont and Malta.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
