Summer Solstice to Bring in the Heat on Wednesday ‎

You may or may not know that June 21 is the summer solstice. You have probably heard the term summer solstice, but do you actually know what the term means?  Well, here goes.

Summer solstice is the first day of summer.

Many people refer to the summer solstice as the longest day of the year. Of course there are no more than 24 hours that separate June 19 and June 21, 2012. It's the sunlight that counts. 

Sun High in the Sky

On Wednesday at 11:57 a.m. CST, the sun will rest at its highest point in the sky for this entire year, standing 73 degrees above the southern horizon. Its arc will seem a bit higher across the sky, the duration of daylight will last 15 hours and 4 minutes Wednesday, according to Space.com.

Another way to describe this is to say the earth's axial tilt is inclined toward the sun more than any other day of the year.

In Hazelwood on the summer solstice, according to sunrisesunset.com, the sun will come up at 5:37 a.m. and set at 8:30 p.m.

For those that equate the start of summer with the longest day of the year, it actually isn't. Wednesday isn't predicted to have the earliest sunrise and latest sunset. The earliest sunrise occurred on June 14, while the latest sunset is not due until June 27.

You can be sure the first day of summer will bring in more heat. Although it seems temperatures have soared the past week in Hazelwood, they will only get hotter.

Looking for something to do while enjoying the summer heat?

There are quite a few summer events in the including: