NC will start losing daylight after the summer solstice. Here’s how quickly

Mari Pressley
·2 min read
17

Prepared for another hot summer in North Carolina? Well, it’s officially here.

Wednesday was the start of the summer solstice, marking the beginning of the summer season.

During the summer solstice, we’re seeing a peak in the amount of sunshine and daylight hours. And according to the U.S. Naval Observatory’s Daylight Data for Charlotte for 2023, we are still seeing the highest amount of daylight right now.

WHAT IS THE SUMMER SOLSTICE?

Marking the astronomical start of summer, the summer solstice is when the earth tilts toward the sun more than it possibly could at any other time in the year, according to Scott Krentz, a meteorologist at The National Weather Service in Greenville Spartanburg, South Carolina.

This also means the sun is traveling along its northernmost path in the sky and will appear at its highest elevation with a noontime position which changes very little for several days before and after summer solstice.

Because North Carolina is in the Northern Hemisphere, we’re starting summer. But in the Southern Hemisphere, this means the start of winter.

According to Krentz, the Summer Solstice started at 10:57 a.m. on Wednesday, June 21.

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WHEN DID THE SUN SET ON JUNE 21?

During the summer solstice, North Carolina enjoyed a day with the longest daylight and shortest night of the year.

Sunrise in Charlotte was at 6:07 a.m. and sunset was at 8:42 p.m., according to the Farmer’s Almanac.

DAYS WILL GET SHORTER

As of now, sunshine time is at its highest for the year at 14 hours and 32 minutes. But on June 26, we can expect the days to gradually get shorter by one minute every two to three days.

From the beginning of July and throughout August, we will lose one to two minutes every day.

And, we’ll continue to see daylight hours shrink until the winter solstice when the earth has reached its maximum tilt away from the sun. That day, we’ll be down to just 9 hours and 47 minutes of daylight, with sunrise at 7:27 a.m. and sunset at 5:14 p.m., according to a chart by Time and Date.