The Fourth of July was the hottest on record in the Triangle (103 degrees), and the following day broke a record high in Fayetteville (102 degrees).
You might be surprised to know that we're actually at our farthest point from the sun in our orbit. It's called aphelion.
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What is aphelion?
As of Monday, July 6, the earth is 94.5 million miles away from the sun. This is the farthest we'll be from the sun in our elliptical orbit.
NASA Ambassador Tony Rice tells WRAL that Earth is moving at its slowest pace of the year. It's traveling at a snail-like pace (*sarcasm*) of 2,240 mph slower than it would be in January.
It's still traveling at a mind-boggling 65,500 mph.
The earth is at its closest point to the sun in January, when it's 91.4 million miles away from the sun. This is called perihelion.
How can we be so hot when we're farther away?
Our seasons are not determined by whether or not we're "close" in proximity to the sun. It all has to do with how the earth is tilted with respect to the sun.
The earth is tilted at a 23.5-degree angle.
When the northern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun - like it is now - we're in summer. The southern hemisphere, meanwhile, is experiencing winter.
Starting in December, the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun. This is our winter. The southern hemisphere trades places, tilting toward the sun.
Summer 2026: Where've been and where we're headed
If you take the period of June 21 (summer solstice) until the day of this story, we've lost six minutes of daylight.
In Raleigh, this period has been its sixth-warmest on record.
We continue losing daylight. In fact, we'll lose a little over an hour over the next six weeks.
