Summer

June 20, 2009

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Profile America — Saturday, June 20th. As of 1:45 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time, tomorrow, it’s summer. While a welcome change, it’s a season with mixed blessings. On the one hand, there are vacation trips to the beach and mountains, boating, cookouts and wearing lighter clothing. On the other, it’s also a time for crowds, bugs, higher gas prices — and higher temperatures. The highest thermometer reading ever recorded in the U.S. was 134 degrees Fahrenheit at Greenland Ranch, California, on July 10, 1913. Next highest was 128 degrees 15 years ago at Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Among larger cities, Phoenix, Arizona, holds the record at 122 degrees. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 324
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 372, 374
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html