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Longest day of the year arrives as summertime heat moves into Western New York

Summer officially began at 5:44 p.m. Saturday.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — With a week of sunshine and warm temperatures in the forecast across Western New York, it would make sense for summer to begin at the end of it. 

The summer solstice occurred at 5:44 p.m. Saturday, and it marks the beginning of its namesake season.

Saturday will also include 15 hours, 20 minutes, and 52 seconds of daylight for Buffalo, making it the longest day of the year. Sunrise on solstice Saturday will be at 5:36 a.m. with sunset at 8:57 p.m. 

The summer solstice occurs when the Earth's North Pole reaches it's maximum tilt towards the Sun, 23.44 degrees to be exact.

This allows for the sun's direct rays to shine across the Northern Hemisphere and directly on the Arctic Circle, causing the region to have continuous daylight (no sunrise or sunset) for one full day. This will happen for approximately 22 hours this year. 

Depending on the shift of the calendar year, the summer solstice can fall on either June 20, 21 or 22. Leading up to the summer solstice, the Northern Hemisphere would gain daylight each day since the winter solstice.

And with the marking of summer, the Northern Hemisphere will slowly loose daylight each day as the Earth's poles slowly change orientation until its opposite peak, when winter begins in the Northern Hemisphere and summer begins in the Southern Hemisphere.  

The summer solstice marks the longest day of the calendar year for the Northern Hemisphere, and of course, the beginning of astronomical summer. The summer's solstice has also been called the "June Solstice," "Midsummer," or the "Estival Solstice." 

And as of Wednesday, Saturday's forecast for the solstice in Western New York looks to continue the weekly trend of sunshine and summery temperatures. 

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