Here comes summer … but with rain this week
Posted June 22, 2011 8:31 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, Ont. – Summer officially arrived on Tuesday at 1:16 p.m. ET.
The city has already had a lot of heat, but brace yourself for some showers the rest of the week.
- 680News Summer in Toronto page: we will keep you up-to-date this summer with event listings, reviews of events, photos, podcasts, video, and more.
Tuesday was actually the astronomical start to summer, with the meteorological start marked on June 1.
The summer solstice is the day when the earth’s northern hemisphere is tilted directly at the sun, Weather Network astronomer Andrew Fazekas explained.
“This gives us more direct solar rays hitting the ground, heating up the ground and the water, giving us warmer temperatures, which we experience as the summer season.”
The tilt of the earth at the summer solstice also makes the sun appear to be directly overhead.
Environment Canada is predicting a hot, dry summer, but 680News meteorologist Taylor said things can change.
“Keep in mind that’s a starting point. So as we move through the next several weeks, things can change, so many variables involved, even the remnants of a hurricane can effect our day-to-day weather in southern Ontario,” she said.
Taylor said we’ve had a fairly dry June so far, so for the rest of this week, the sky is going to open up with showers continuing off and on through to Friday.
“We’ve only had 20.4 millimetres of rain so far for the month of June, so we certainly need some rain. Lawns and gardens are looking a little dry lately,” she said.
Tuesday is also the longest day of the year. During the summer solstice, the northern axis of the earth is tilted toward the sun allowing more daylight hours.
Tens of thousands of revellers gathered at Stonehenge for an all-night party to celebrate the longest day of the year.
