MINOT – Today starts a six day stretch of the longest days of the year.
Of course, such a statement needs some clarification since all days are 24 hours long, or very close to it. However, the amount of daylight, hours and minutes, changes constantly.
The daytime length for June 19 is 16 hours and 5 minutes, or one more minute of daylight than June 18. It’s also the most daylight that will occur in Minot this year, give or take a few seconds. Officially, Minot will enjoy 16 hours and 5 minutes of daylight the rest of the week before the slide into fall and winter commences.
Summer begins on June 21, but on Sunday, June 25 the hours of daylight slip back to 16 hours and 4 minutes. By the end of July, the region will lose another hour of daylight.
Fortunately, it takes a lot of time for cooler weather to take hold. There's still plenty of enjoyable summer days ahead. There’s even a pretty good chance that El Nino will kick in and bring with it warmer than usual winter temperatures too.
And, for those who like to follow astrological happenings, August of this year features two full moons, Aug. 1 and Aug. 30.