Poll of the Day > Is June a Spring or Summer month?

(+) Yeah! (+)

What would you say?

RIP southern hemisphere.

Technically both but practically summer is memorial day to labor day

I think of it as a spring month, partly because its one of our wettest months, and our summers are very dry.

Every month is a summer month in Arizona except for December and January.

sveksii posted...

RIP southern hemisphere.

Vote for Summer = Winter, or Spring = Fall

Summer starts on June 21st so it's both.

MagicalPrincess posted...

Summer starts on June 21st so it's both.

Yeah this.
Although I always associated it with summer because we'd get out of school early June.

Technically both, although mostly a spring month when you think about it. 20 of the 30 days are spring.

Technically it's mostly spring, but it feels like a summer month doesn't it.

The local standard for most of my life was that summer starts around Memorial Day (which is when people start opening their pools) and ends around Labor Day (when people start closing their pools and kids go back to school).

There's an argument to be made that most of June isn't summer because most schools' summer break doesn't start until the end of June, but that might depend on the school (and a lot of colleges will actually end in May, sooo...).

As others have pointed out, it's technically both, since the official start of summer is the 20th/21st. But people usually round that off so that June/July/August is summer, Sep/Oct/Nov is autumn, Dec/Jan/Feb is winter, and March/April/May is spring. Of course, seasons aren't really exactly "equal", and depending on where you live it might seem different to you. For example, for most of my life in New Jersey we've kind of gone directly from summer to winter (and vice-versa) in the span of about a week, and there's the old joke in places like Milwaukee that there's only two seasons - winter and July 12th.

Both. Summer starts on the 22nd.

I consider it more of a spring month but it really could go either way. We're having nearly summer temperatures right now in Alberta but I'd never consider early May to be summer.

Mostly spring

The only technically right answer is both, I could see some thinking it's one or the other based on how warm it gets.

summer = June, July, August

Astronomcally spring, meteorologically summer.

FrozenBananas posted...

summer = June, July, August

This is actually the correct answer in terms of meteorology. The seasons we typically use are based on astronomy and not weather. Why would summer begin on the longest day of the year? It makes no sense.

bsp77 posted...

This is actually the correct answer in terms of meteorology. The seasons we typically use are based on astronomy and not weather. Why would summer begin on the longest day of the year? It makes no sense.

The same reason why winter starts on the shortest day of the year.

Now see here. We already have to deal with snow from October to May most years and September to June on bad years. I am claiming every summer month I can.

Revelation34 posted...

The same reason why winter starts on the shortest day of the year.

Exactly. Also makes no sense.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

As others have pointed out, it's technically both, since the official start of summer is the 20th/21st. But people usually round that off so that June/July/August is summer, Sep/Oct/Nov is autumn, Dec/Jan/Feb is winter, and March/April/May is spring.

Pretty much this, though in practice Spring weather often extends well into June, Summer weather often extends well into Sept/Oct, and Winter weather usually takes over part of November and often lasts until early April. Those three-month divisions make intuitive sense and are how I tend to think of the seasons falling, but the reality of the matter is that seasonal weather patterns vary quite wildly from place to place and even year to year.

bsp77 posted...

This is actually the correct answer in terms of meteorology. The seasons we typically use are based on astronomy and not weather. Why would summer begin on the longest day of the year? It makes no sense.

Because astronomy is consistent and weather is not. Were seasons based entirely on weather, the start date would vary wildly and you'd really only be able to pin it down a couple weeks after the fact when you confirmed that that was the first day that the 7-day average temperature exceeded whatever arbitrary threshold you decided on. That's not really conducive to throwing a party to celebrate the start of the season/end of the previous one, so people chose something a little more concrete, even if they still had to make some adjustments to their seasonal behaviours based on what the current weather was doing..

adjl posted...

Because astronomy is consistent and weather is not. Were seasons based entirely on weather, the start date would vary wildly and you'd really only be able to pin it down a couple weeks after the fact when you confirmed that that was the first day that the 7-day average temperature exceeded whatever arbitrary threshold you decided on. That's not really conducive to throwing a party to celebrate the start of the season/end of the previous one, so people chose something a little more concrete, even if they still had to make some adjustments to their seasonal behaviours based on what the current weather was doing..

Yes, they used it for parties and such but if talking about real weather, it is inaccurate.
Think about it, the basis they use for astronomy doesn't make sense. Why would the day with the most sunlight be the start of the warmest season? It is a simple standard to use but it isn't accurate for the weather at all.

Actually, the winter solstrice was also called midwinter and hence was the middle. More recently it culturally shifted to the beginning. But neither is accurate when looking at average temperatures over the years. In actuality, the winter solstice is about one fourth into the worst winter weather. It isn't the middle because the earth tends to hold the temperature it had had for many months prior. And I should'nt have to explain why it being the start makes no sense (even though that is where the official winter starts).

Looking at averages over the years is where the metereological seasons are set. That is all I am saying.

Ultimately though, every place is different. I am in Minnesota where winter tends to be mid November to late March. Spring is all over the place but essentially April and May only.

Meteorological Summer

bsp77 posted...

Why would the day with the most sunlight be the start of the warmest season?

In practice, the warmest period does tend to fall between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox, simply because of how long it takes the earth's temperature to catch up to the amount of sunlight it's getting.

bsp77 posted...

Actually, the winter solstrice was also called midwinter and hence was the middle. More recently it culturally shifted to the beginning.

Not having studied anthropology enough to be able to confirm this, I would hazard a guess that that's a function of how culturally significant the amount of daylight was, rather than anything to do with weather or temperature. For a very significant part of humanity's history (including the period in which the pagan traditions off of which we base our recognition of the solstice were developed) daylight dictated much of what people were able to do and when they could do it. In that regard, the solstice marked the end of the period in which the amount of daylight was declining and was celebrated as looking forward hopefully to longer days and greater potential for productivity. It's not necessarily the middle of "winter" in the sense of the cold season, but it is the middle of "winter" in the sense of the period in which there isn't much daylight to work with.

adjl posted...

In practice, the warmest period does tend to fall between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox, simply because of how long it takes the earth's temperature to catch up to the amount of sunlight it's getting.

I addressed that, which is why the solstice is only a quarter into the metereological season vs halfway. Regardless, in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere, June is notably warmer on average than September. July is the hottest month, which of course is in the middle of what I am saying. So just stop. You don't know what you are talking about.

I will not reply again.

sveksii posted...

RIP southern hemisphere.

90% of the human population lives in the northern hemisphere.

On topic June July and August are all summer months because they are miserably hot.

bsp77 posted...

I addressed that, which is why the solstice is only a quarter into the metereological season vs halfway. Regardless, in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere, June is notably warmer on average than September. July is the hottest month, which of course is in the middle of what I am saying. So just stop. You don't know what you are talking about.

I will not reply again.

Using your logic about weather then that means spring and autumn don't exist in Arizona.

I've always seen it as a summer month.