Summer gets its official start in the Northern Hemisphere with the arrival of the summer solstice. The sun will trace its highest, longest arc across the sky Friday, making for the longest day and shortest night of the year.

Summer officially begins Friday, June 20, at 10:41 p.m. Eastern time. That’s the precise moment of the summer solstice — making for the longest, brightest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Temperatures are toasty and the humidity is sweltering across much of the Lower 48. There’s no denying it’s summer.

Summer officially begins in the Northern Hemisphere on June 20 with the summer solstice, the day with the greatest amount of possible daylight and the shortest night.