Full moon beams above D.C. to start day of historic heat

It had been perfectly, astronomically full only a few hours earlier, and to the unschooled eye, still appeared spectacularly so as it prepared to vanish from sight with the coming of the dawn.

The sight of the moon has always been imbued with meaning, playing an important role in myth and legend. On Saturday, it could have been viewed as especially portentous, a glowing prelude to daylight hours of history-making heat.

The official reading for the District was 100 degrees, one degree short of the record for the date. However, it was the first time since 2012 that 100 degrees had been reached in D.C. in June, according to the National Weather Service.

At Dulles International Airport, Saturday’s high was 101 degrees.

It broke the Dulles record for the date, which was 99 degrees, reached in 1988. At Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport, the mercury reached 100 degrees, breaking a record of 99 set in 1988.

It was the first Saturday since the June 20 solstice, and even without the dramatic guest appearance by the moon, it seemed to live up to expectations for a summer day in the Washington region.

It offered a helping of hot-weather discomfort, but some grounds for enjoyment as well.

Temperatures in the triple digits, even if only briefly, made it indisputably hot. If it wasn’t always 100, it was in the upper 90s for much of the afternoon.

It was also humid, with enough water vapor floating around to frustrate the body’s efforts to cool itself.

It raised feels-like temperatures to 105 in Washington and at BWI.

And the third “h” in the infamous summertime triumvirate also showed itself. It was hazy.

Summer’s vapory haze blurred the shapes and shadows of distant vistas, and imparted a vaguely gray-blue tinge to the sky.

The same haze seemed to join with a sea of clouds in moderating the full fierceness of Saturday’s sun. It was not clear how much less comfortable it might have been otherwise.

On the small scale, far from the movements of great masses of air and strong atmospheric currents, conditions seemed to vary from place to place and from moment to moment.

Comfort, at least of the relative sort, could be found in the shade of a leafy tree. In addition, the outdoor experience became instantly more endurable when a cloud drifted across the face of the sun, producing a widespread shadow.

And a breeze stirred on occasion, whipping at the edges of the blanket of humidity that often could be encountered when the air was still.

To add to the historic nature of the day, and to enhance its memorability quotient, nature seemed to present the moon as a consolation prize to those prevented by the heat from sleeping soundly.

Beaming through the summer haze, it was the very moon that has become legend in American popular culture, for giving romantically inclined songwriters a word to rhyme with June. And spoon and swoon.

It will be close to full again above the D.C. area on Sunday morning.