Schuylkill County residents who were enjoying the outdoors Thursday were looking forward to today's first day of summer.
The summer solstice occurred at 1:04 a.m. today, marking the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere and the official start of summer.
"I'm really excited it's summer," said Alli Lecher, 20, a lifeguard for JFK Pool in Pottsville. "I love being at the pool. The first day it was extremely busy, which is awesome. Then, we've had a lot of rainy days. This weekend is supposed to be really nice so I'm sure there will be a lot of people here then."
So far this month, the area has seen 3.42 inches of precipitation, according to Elyse Colbert, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, State College. That comes close to last year's 3.43 inches.
The average temperature for June has been 66.5 degrees, which tops last year's average of 64.5 degrees.
The rain has affected plans for some JFK Pool patrons. Nicole Swartz, 29, of Pottsville, said she hasn't been to the pool as much this year.
"We go out on the days it doesn't rain," she said. "We got the pool passes this year but it seems like during the week, it rains a few days so we can't really use them as much. We're going to go to the beach at the end of July."
For the first day of summer, Swartz said, "My brother is actually coming to visit us because he ships out on Saturday for the Marines. So, he's actually coming to the pool with the boys since he hasn't seen them in a while. So, we'll be here tomorrow."
Swartz also talked about her online classes for the summer.
"They don't have school but I still do," she said.
Steve Malek, 36, of Pottsville, was also relaxing by the pool.
"I feel relaxed and happy that I get some time off," Malek said of the summer, He said his plans include, "Just my normal being on the river. I get outside and enjoy some recreation time."
According to the NWS, today is going to be sunny with a high 81 degrees, dropping to 55 degrees after sunset at 8:39 p.m.
Saturday will also be sunny with a high of 84 degrees, and on Sunday it's going to be partly cloudy with a high of 85 degrees and a 20 percent chance of rain.
"As far as temperature looks now through the beginning of July, there's a 40 percent chance of it being above average," Colbert said. "There's also a 50 percent chance for it being above-average for precipitation."