Sometimes all that can be done about weather in the D.C. area is to accept it, but on Saturday acceptance meant enjoyment, as warm temperatures, blue skies, bright sunshine and low humidity joined to form a kind of meteorological all-star team.
Washington
June brilliance extends to Saturday in the D.C. area
Importantly, humidity, often the bane of the D.C. area’s summers, seemed again to be distinguished by its absence. Humidity prevents perspiration from evaporating; it soaks clothing, saps strength and may even test the spirit.
But Saturday, like Friday, seemed to be a no-sweat day in the District, permitting exertion without the accumulation of perspiration. Both days seemed an atmospheric world apart from the conditions that only Wednesday brought the area turbulence, thunderstorms and tornadoes.
It seemed so unusually dry for Washington at this time of year as almost to prompt worry about whether any environmental ransom had been paid to obtain so pleasant a day.
Storms, brewed from heat and humidity, seemed remote from possibility. But while humidity may ebb and flow, and while temperatures may rise and fall, one thing is constant in June, and that is the strength of the sun.
Too few clouds seemed to populate Saturday’s skies to shield Washington from the unmediated intensity of June sunshine. It threw a white glare over walls and walks. It made the glossy leaves on trees shine like tiny mirrors. It seemed to be reflected by every blade of grass.
Even with the dryness of the air, wisdom and physiological capacity seemed to suggest limiting exposure to the sun at the time of its peak annual intensity.
Shadows are short at this time of year. As the summer solstice approaches, the sun is high in the sky. On Saturday its peak midday elevation reached 74 degrees. That is only 16 short of being directly overhead, and easily enough to challenge the flexibility of necks and spines if an attempt is made to glimpse it.
With the sun so high in the sky, shade and shadows may be a little more difficult to find.
But they nevertheless provided a welcome resource and respite for any attempts to spend the entirety of a June day outdoors. With its 14 hours and 50 minutes of daylight, that applied to even so pleasurable a day as Saturday.