Lengthening of Daylight Hours

[Edwin]

We live in North Central Washington State USA at 2800 feet elevation, which means it is 10 degrees cooler in the summer here than in the valley, and 10 degrees colder here in the winter than in the valley. I think it is the 22nd of June that we have the most daylight hours in the day. It stays light until almost 10:00 p.m. I think it is the 22nd of December when we have the least amount of daylight hours in the day. So at that time it gets dark about 4:00 p.m. It seems strange to me that July and August are our hottest days of the year, and yet the days are already getting shorter by that time. It also seems strange that usually our most severe winter weather comes in January, and by then the days are already getting longer!