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Pastimes : Answers From The Sage
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To: John Hunt who wrote (16)9/15/1996 12:36:00 PM
From: The Sage   of 87
 
Hello John Hunt, In answer to your question: If December 21st is the shortest day, why is January the coldest month?

For the same reason that July is the hottest month after the summer solstace in June. It might be easier to explain using the summer months as an example. Through the months of spring and early summer as the sun is rising in the sky, each day is adding heat to surface of the earth. In June the sun is at its' highest point and is really pumping in the BTUs. This is carried over into July. Lots of BTUs still coming in ONTO AN ALREADY HEATED EARTH. Thus the July days tend to be warmer. As the sun sinks in the latter days of summer, not as much energy is reaching the northern latitudes and, since heat is contantly escaping from the earth into outer space, the temperature begins to fall. This same lag time is repeated after December 21st into January.

Pssst. (Although that is the scientific reason.... the real reason is so that we can lie on the beach during summer vacation and not freeze our buns.)

The Sage
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