Summer

(From Kids InfoBits, which includes ReadSpeaker text-to-speech technology. Free trial.)

Summer is one of Earth's four seasons. It includes the months of June, July, and August.

Most areas of the world have four seasons every twelve months. They are Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. The seasons change because of the Earth's movement around the Sun. When the northern part of the Earth is leaning away from the Sun and the southern half is leaning toward the Sun, it is winter in the north and summer in the south

June 21 is the first day of summer in the northern hemisphere. On this day each year, the North Pole is the nearest it will ever be to the Sun. The Sun is at its highest point in the sky all year. This means it takes longer to make its way across the sky. So on June 21 there is more sunlight than on any other day of the year.

Weather is not the same everywhere. For example, summer in the southern state of Florida is hotter than in the northern state of Montana because it is closer to the equator. States along the oceans' coasts are more humid (moist) than inland states.

Summer is a time of tornadoes, hurricanes, and drought. A drought happens when it does not rain for a long time. The ground dries up and plants die. Food and water can be hard to find in a drought.

Droughts can lead to wildfires. States with mountains, such as Colorado, are in danger of wildfires every summer.