Basking in the sun

Relaxing in the sunshine this afternoon was simply delightful. While the temperature measured in the shade was hovering around 60 degrees, my thermometer, placed in direct sunshine, soared to the middle 90s. This was a great example of the microclimate one can experience on a sun-drenched afternoon.

Recorded temperatures are taken in a shaded area, over grass, at five feet above ground. To capture the powerful impact of the midday sunshine, even though we are a month past the equinox, put on a black sweatshirt, walk from a shady north exposure into the direct sunshine. If you're protected from the wind, you’ll quickly sense the solar power.

On this date in 1991 the high temperature in the Twin Cities was 60 degrees. It was still a comfortable 65 degrees on the 29th. But by the 30th, the mercury plunged to a nippy 22 degrees. We were on the brink of the historical Halloween blizzard.

While there still might be a 70-degree high in our future this autumn, nature can quickly turn a sunny afternoon treat into a nightmarish trick.