In the early afternoon, Saturday was bewilderingly bright and warm, but later on, wind-driven sleet rattled on window panes in a way that might have persuaded many to stay home and take another stab at “Moby Dick.”
Suddenly rising winds were blamed for a serious injury to a young woman who was struck about 3 p.m. by a falling tree branch in Montgomery County.
She was struck in a wooded area in the 7900 block of Tuckerman Lane, just as the winds started up, said Pete Piringer, county fire and rescue spokesman.
At least two different days coexisted within a few brief hours in the Washington area on Saturday. It began as a day of blissfully balmy November temperatures, with the mercury reaching 70 degrees at Dulles International Airport, and 72 at Reagan National Airport.
Only the crackle of fallen leaves betrayed the true time of year, making Washington residents aware that Saturday would not soon be followed by summer.
Things changed abruptly in midafternoon. Wintry conditions asserted themselves.
Down went the mercury, plunging 18 degrees at National between 3 p.m. when it was 70, and 4 p.m. when it was 52. The rapid descent did not stop there but continued into the 40s, reaching 44 at 6 p.m.
A cold front swept into the area. National reported a gust of 49 mph. Dulles measured a peak gust of 45 mph. Power blackouts were inevitable.
At one time Pepco reported about 2,000 homes and businesses without electricity. Dominion Virginia Power indicated that about 1,600 of its customers spent at least some time in the dark.
Windblown raindrops were flung against car windshields and home windows. In some locations, people reported that the precipitation fell as sleet and made a solid clatter as it struck the glass.
In quantity, however, the rain seemed inadequate to the meteorological drama. Amounts officially measured at National and Dulles airports seemed meager.
By mid-evening, the total measured at National was only 0.05 inches. It was hardly enough to make much of a dent in the area’s recent rainfall shortage.
At Dulles, the quantity recorded was an almost trivial 0.02 inches.
In Prince George’s County, conditions stayed dry enough long enough for a brush fire to break out. Adding insult to injury, Mark E. Brady, spokesman for the county fire department, said it appeared possible that the fire was not only driven by the wind, but also had been started by a downed utility line.
The rain may have been more plentiful in some areas than others, and if it did not end the drought, was still adequate to serve as a minor annoyance.
Maryland resident Jillian Hagerty said her dad “ran to the car in the pouring rain” only to find that he “didn’t have the keys.”
Apparently wiser and wetter, he went back for them, and, Hagerty said, carried out his errand.