Currently in NYC — June 21, 2023: A spring-like day to kick off summer

The weather, currently.

Happy Summer Solstice! We turn the page on Spring but it will still feel like it with an easy-going high of 74°F and partly cloudy skies. We’ve been very lucky so far in June but the tides, they are a-changin’. If you have any outdoor plans later this week, try to change them to Wednesday. It’s our last dry day for a while. Not only will showers and thunderstorms become the norm, but the humidity comes dripping back into the picture, too. Expect saturated and slimy air starting on Friday. Bottom line, definitely enjoy Wednesday.

Bike Forecast:

9 out of 10

— Stacy Blundell

What you need to know, currently.

The summer solstice is one of my favorite holidays, celebrating the peak of life — both its warmth and its impermanence. Some version of the solstice is celebrated in nearly every culture, whether it’s block parties and barbeque, or holding hands around a bonfire in Scandanavia. It’s the fleetingness of life, of course, that makes it so special. That is what the solstice is all about.

Solstice comes from the Latin words sol (Sun) and sistere (to stand still). It’s a moment when the sun literally stands still in the sky in relation to the other stars, and happens twice per year when Earth’s axis of rotation tilts to its most extreme point — 23.44 degrees.

In June, the Earth’s axis tilts towards the sun, creating 24-hours of daylight for places north of the Arctic Circle, and 24-hours of darkness for places south of the Antarctic Circle. Everywhere on Earth experiences either their longest or shortest night of the year.

In Sweden, one of the northernmost countries on Earth, the solstice is a major event called midsommar. In Sweden’s capital, Stockholm, the time between sunset and sunrise is only 5 hours and 27 minutes, and parties last all night.

To celebrate this year’s solstice, here’s an excerpt from my friend (and favorite poet)’s newest collection: Ephemera, by Sierra DeMulder.

—Eric Holthaus

What you can do, currently.

Currently is entirely member funded, and right now we need your support!

Today we’re starting our annual summer membership drive — with a goal to double our membership base over the next six weeks which will guarantee this service can continue throughout this year’s hurricane season. We’ll need 747 new members by July 31 to make this goal happen.

If these emails mean something important to you — and more importantly, if the idea of being part of a community that’s building a weather service for the climate emergency means something important to you — please chip in just $5 a month to continue making this service possible.

Thank you!!