HAPPY SUMMER!

Happy Summer Everyone! The summer solstice occurred precisely at 6:51 am yesterday and the season ends with the autumnal equinox at 10:29 pm on September 22. From the beginning to the end of summer, the sunrise changes from 5:07 to 6:31 am and the sunset changes from 8:25 to 6:41 pm! The daylight at the beginning of summer amounts to almost 15 hours and 18 minutes but on the ending day, it is 3 hours and 8 minutes less at 12 hours and 10 minutes. UGH! It is quite a different story in Barrow, Alaska where the sun rose at 3 am on May 10 and will not set until 2:03 am on August 2! The sun will then rise 1 hour and 2 minutes later at 3:05 am! The daylight then begins to decrease quite rapidly from late summer into the fall and the flip side is that when the sun sets at 1:44 pm on November 18, it will not rise until 1:29 pm on January 22! Now that is really ugly and depressing!!

The average high temperature at the beginning of summer is 78 degrees. This average peaks at 83 degrees usually around July 22. Interestingly, 3 years ago on that date, Boston sizzled to 103 degrees which tied the record set in 1926. The city's highest temperature ever on record was 1 degree higher at 104 set on July 4, 1911. When summer ends, the average high temperature will have declined to 70 degrees. Boston's 75 degrees yesterday was 3 degrees below the average high for June 21. Similar conditions can be expected today all over the place with coastline highs in the range of 70-74 and elsewhere readings of 74-78 are likely. Sunshine will be yield to patches of small puffy clouds as the day goes on but nothing more than a sprinkle will occur in a few isolated places mainly over the higher hills.

We will continue to be comforted by dry air through Monday but the humidity will become more noticeable Tuesday afternoon and it will be quite muggy on Wednesday. Until then, today through Tuesday will be sunny to partly cloudy. A south to southwesterly wind will become quite brisk and gusty on Tuesday afternoon ahead of an approaching frontal boundary that will trigger some showers and boomers here mainly on Wednesday afternoon and night. Afterall, the lawns and gardens are getting thirsty for some rain.

We have a brand new CBS Boston/WBZ Weather app that just hit the iTunes store. Go to CBSBoston.com to download the "CBS Boston Weather" app.

On WBZ News, you can watch the weathercasts by Danielle Niles through 9 o'clock this morning and again at 6:30 this evening. I will follow at 11 o'clock this evening. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!