Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
![]() |
|
uk.sci.weather (UK Weather) (uk.sci.weather) For the discussion of daily weather events, chiefly affecting the UK and adjacent parts of Europe, both past and predicted. The discussion is open to all, but contributions on a practical scientific level are encouraged. |
Reply |
|
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
What does midsummer actually mean?
Surely it can't mean the middle of summer as my calendar says the 21st is the official start of summer. So where has this come from? Graham |
#2
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
In article , dated Mon, 19 Jun 2006,
Graham Jones wrote What does midsummer actually mean? Surely it can't mean the middle of summer as my calendar says the 21st is the official start of summer. So where has this come from? I'm not sure whether the offset is a Precession of the Equinoxes type timeslip, or something to do with the lost eleven days when the calendar was changed, but June 24 is midsummer as December 24 is midwinter, ie the middle of the half-year. It's very ancient - the mid-winter date is at least Roman (that's why it became Christmas). The division of the year into two halves is also pretty old, and is seen on Celtic calendars such as the Coligny calendar, though I expect the concept is a lot older than that. -- Kate B PS 'elvira' is spamtrapped - please reply to 'elviraspam' at cockaigne if you want to reply personally |
#3
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]() Graham Jones wrote: What does midsummer actually mean? Surely it can't mean the middle of summer as my calendar says the 21st is the official start of summer. So where has this come from? This is the perennial question. There is no straight answer. In terms of the calendar I suppose June 21st is midsummer. Most British people take summer to be the months of June, July and August, symmetrically bracketing the statistically warmest part of the year. The Americans consider June 21st to be the start of summer, and as they would say - your mileage may vary. Martin Graham |
#4
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
In message , Graham Jones
writes What does midsummer actually mean? The day with the most hours of light. Surely it can't mean the middle of summer as my calendar says the 21st is the official start of summer. So where has this come from? The seasons lag the sun. Graham -- Surfer! Email to: ramwater at uk2 dot net |
#5
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
The Americans
consider June 21st to be the start of summer, That's interesting, as most parts of the USA seem to have a later summer compared to us. I've noticed (from weather reports) that most parts of the USA are as likely as NW Europe to have cool, wet weather in say May, while September and October are notably warmer and sunnier than NW Europe. I remember seeing some monthly average maxima for New York, and amazingly, New York is warmer in October (mean max 21C) than May (mean max 20C). Nick |
#6
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]() |
#7
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
Graham Jones wrote:
What does midsummer actually mean? Surely it can't mean the middle of summer as my calendar says the 21st is the official start of summer. So where has this come from? Graham June 21st is the first day of summer, as it's a astronomical measure of time. While midsummers day is the 24th June because it's a pagan festival centered on the summer solstice being the half way through the summer. However, over the past two millennium, the tropical year and Julian year have moved apart, so the 24th June is no longer on the summer solstice. Wolverhampton 175m asl |
#8
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
June 21st is the first day of summer, as it's a astronomical measure of
time. I've never quite got that though. If astronomical summer is defined as the lightest season (which, surely, it ought to be, just like climatic summer is the warmest season) then astronomically, summer should be the three months centred on June 21st, i.e. May 6th to August 6th. A combination of day length, temperature, and relative probability of sun vs gloomy overcast would be something like this: Summer: June 1 - September 20 Autumn: September 21-November 20 Winter: November 20-February 28 Spring: March 1 - May 31 Autumn in particular is a fleeting season: high daytime temps (20C+) typically last well into September in southern England whilst in a normal year most of the leaves have dropped off by mid-November, leaving us in the dank gloom of winter. Nick |
#9
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]() |
#10
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]() wrote in message ps.com... | The Americans | consider June 21st to be the start of summer, | | That's interesting, as most parts of the USA seem to have a later | summer compared to us. I've noticed (from weather reports) that most | parts of the USA are as likely as NW Europe to have cool, wet weather | in say May, while September and October are notably warmer and sunnier | than NW Europe. I remember seeing some monthly average maxima for New | York, and amazingly, New York is warmer in October (mean max 21C) than | May (mean max 20C). | When you consider that there is only land between New York and the mass of ice and snow that accumulates in Canada over the Winter and does not really start to thaw until March, this is not surprising at all. Their north-westerlies can be a jolly sight colder than ours - and think how cool a British north-westerly can be in May after coming from the Arctic via a thousand mile sea track. Mind you, New York is also a lot nearer sources of tropical warmth than we are in May, too. -- - Yokel - oo oo OOO OOO OO 0 OO ) ( I ) ( ) ( /\ ) ( "Yokel" now posts via a spam-trap account. Replace my alias with stevejudd to reply. |
Reply |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
![]() |
||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Must be midsummer! | uk.sci.weather (UK Weather) | |||
Integrated or (Max+Min)/2 ??? and Help! When we say Mean do we mean Average - I always get confused? | uk.sci.weather (UK Weather) | |||
Integrated or (Max+Min)/2 - and when we say Mean do we mean Average | uk.sci.weather (UK Weather) | |||
What does midsummer actaullt mean? | uk.sci.weather (UK Weather) | |||
Midsummer's Day [and night]? | uk.sci.weather (UK Weather) |