Summer solstice arrives Monday afternoon, coincides with full moon

Mon., June 20, 2016

By Mike Prager mikeprager15@gmail.com (509) 459-5454

This year’s summer solstice, the official start of summer, arrives at 3:34 p.m. Monday and coincides with a full moon and the arrival of summer temperatures.

National Weather forecasters said there is a chance of thunderstorms and unsettled weather near the mountains today but much of the region will see mostly sunny skies.

Today’s high should reach the middle 80s in Spokane.

A full moon and the solstice have not occurred on the same day since 1967. Monday’s full moon was at 4:02 a.m., so the Monday evening moon will be slightly waning.

This is the fourth full moon to occur between the spring equinox in March and the summer solstice. Normally, there would be just three full moons.

A fourth full moon during a single season is sometimes called a seasonal blue moon, according to the EarthSky website. The next time that four full moons will occur during spring will be in 2035.

On Dec. 21, 2010, a full moon coincided with the winter solstice and a total lunar eclipse, an event that will not occur again until 2401.

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