It might feel like summer across the Chicago area on Sunday, with temperatures rising into the mid-80 degrees and Memorial Day, which many consider the official start to the season, just over a week away.
But when does summer actually begin?
Not long after Memorial Day, meteorological summer gets underway on June 1, marking the start of a three-month seasonal calendar.
Astronomical summer won’t officially begin for a few more weeks.
Astronomical summer starts on June 21, with the summer solstice taking place at 3:24 a.m. that morning.
It will bring longest day of the year, coinciding with the summer solstice – when one of Earth’s poles reaches its maximum tilt toward the sun.
Chicago will see 15 hours, 13 minutes and 41 seconds of daylight that day, marking the longest stretch of the year, according to timeanddate.com.
Sunrise is set for 5:15 a.m., with sunset at 8:29 p.m. and days gradually getting shorter afterward.
While June 21 brings the longest day of the year and the latest sunset, the earliest sunrise – 5:14 a.m. – arrives earlier in the month, occurring seven days from June 11 to June 17, with slightly earlier sunset times.
