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Scorching heat in DC for another day as summer begins
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Scorching heat in DC for another day as summer begins

Summer seems to have already taken hold in Washington, as a scorching Saturday was matched by a sweltering Friday, with another 98-degree afternoon. But the city could use some small favors, as the humidity seemed noticeably lower on Saturday.

Humidity and temperature contribute to the heat index, the number that suggests what it really feels like to face the combined onslaught of these two sources of summer threat. On Saturday, according to the heat index, there were times when the wind chill hit 103 degrees.

Compared to Friday, though, that figure might offer some small comfort. On Friday, the National Weather Service estimated a “sensible” high temperature of 108 degrees. On Saturday, it appeared to reach just 103 degrees.

Saturday was a small milestone in the march toward the fiery heart of summer. On Saturday, for the first time this year, the average daily high temperature in the District reached 90 degrees.

That may signal that the summeriest period of summer is already here. With Saturday, D.C. has embarked on a long stretch of July days with an average high temperature of 90 degrees.

These days can be considered close to the peak temperature of summer, and the capital is now in it.

But of course, summer days here, even well into July, don’t have to be hours of constant inclement weather.

On Saturday, white clouds proudly spread across the sky, occasionally covering and even obscuring the sun, producing an instant and noticeable chill. Cloud shadows can be one of the subtle comforts that exist even in the middle of July.

Furthermore, even if they cover only small areas of land and extend only a few feet or yards, relatively cool and shaded resting places appear to exist throughout much of the metropolitan area.

In some old streets of the city, the trees are so tall that the leaves and branches of those on one side touch the leaves and branches of the other, several stories high, forming a kind of natural refuge of high arches against the stifling summer heat.

The tall oak on the east side of the street can touch the tall oak on the other side, and standing in its shade, looking up at the blue sky and white clouds through the gaps between the green leaves, can mitigate much of the harshness of a 98-degree day.

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