A Slightly Autumnal Feel To The First Day Of Summer

It's officially astronomical summer, and time to enjoy the great outdoors
This photo was taken during a heat wave a few years ago. But this year,
the first day of summer is actually on the cool side in Vermont.

Today's the first day of astronomical summer, the longest day of the year. It feels, however, just a bit like the autumnal equinox. It is a slightly chilly start to summer here in Vermont.

But don't worry! That doesn't mean the entire summer will be cold.

Actually, this cool first day of summer is quite pleasant from my perspective.

You can do anything outdoors and not melt from the heat. The sun is out, so it's not that cold, but the humidity is low, and there's a breeze. What's not to love?

Highs today will be in the upper 60s to mid 70s, which actually is only a little bit below normal for this time of year and certainly nothing all that unusual.

The coolness will linger off and on into the weekend and early next week. Tonight, temperatures will get down into the 40s across the entire region. So a good night for sleeping. Some of the cold hollows in the Adirondacks and Northeast Kingdom of Vermont could get into the 30s. I wouldn't even be surprised to see a touch of first night of summer frost in places like Saranac Lake, New York.

Temperatures will rebound nicely to normal summer levels Friday, but clouds and eventually showers moving in for Saturday and Sunday will keep temperatures on the cool side. On Sunday, another cold front arrives, which will keep temperatures a bit on the coolish side early next week before it warms up again.

Of course, we're talking about astronomical summer. Meteorological summer is considered to run from June 1 through August 31. For the record, June so far in Vermont has had temperatures averaging pretty close to normal.