This evening at 6:09 mark the beginning of the summer solstice in the Tennessee Valley.

While our temperatures have been at Summer levels for the past several days, did you know that today will be longest day of the year?

The first day of Summer is the year’s longest day due to the earth being tilted 23 degrees toward the Sun while the first day of Winter is always the shortest as the planet angles itself away on its axis.

The sun will set tonight at 8:03 p.m. in Huntsville and at 8:08 p.m. in the Shoals. This accounts to exactly 14 hours and 30 minutes of day light in Madison County and 14 hours and 31 minutes of sunshine for Colbert County.

Ben Luna