June's raw deal has Bostonians longing for summer
3.5 degree deficit often wet, to boot
The beaches of Dorchester Bay were empty yesterday, gray tableaus of steely water and wet sand. Buffeted by a cool sea breeze as he walked back from Castle Island, Robert Butts was decidedly disgruntled.
"The weather here is getting worse," the Fields Corner resident said. "Maybe I'm getting old and grumpy, but it didn't always used to be like this."
Halfway through June, the weather has indeed gotten worse, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton. Compared with previous Boston Junes, this one has been colder, and, depending on how you measure it, rainier. "It doesn't look like it's going to hit 80 degrees anytime soon," said Neal Strauss, a weather service meteorologist.
Strauss said the average temperature this month so far has been 62.2 degrees, 3.5 degrees cooler than usual.
Though rainfall is also 0.45 inches below average, "that's misleading," said Strauss, "because the frequency of the precipitation has been rather high." In other words, he said, stating the obvious: "It's been raining almost every day."
The delay in summer weather has frustrated and bewildered would-be beachgoers and sun-baskers. "I'm totally turned off by it. I'm going to move," said Butts, who cited balmy Florida as his likely destination.
While some people on the overcast Boston Common yesterday didn't seem to mind - "It's been a little peculiar," said David Galt, an analyst for the inspector general's office who comes outside for lunch even on dreary days - others were distraught.
"It's been horrible, horrible, horrible," said Kathie DiRusso, a vendor for Mr. Gourmet, a sausage stand on the Common. "Today we're only doing lunch, and then we close down because it's going to rain," she said. "We've lost a lot of business because of the weather."
"This isn't June," said Andrew Benson of the South End.
"I think it's been kind of abysmal," said Patrick Casey of Jamaica Plain.
The most difficult challenge for some has been the weather's unpredictability.
"We try to be out here as much as possible," said Eric Grillo, a pickle stand vendor. But recently, he said, it's been difficult to guess whether precipitation will clear up or wreck the day. "If it's pouring out at 10, we're kind of stuck," he said.
"It causes you to overdress and prepare," said Alexander Johnson, of Dorchester, "and then it doesn't rain."
There is some improvement in sight, meteorologist Strauss said yesterday.
"We do see a period of dry weather coming up this week for Tuesday, Wednesday, and much of Thursday," he said. As for temperatures, while Strauss doesn't see any significant change in what he called the "overall pattern," highs will creep into the 70s tomorrow.
Of course, not everyone is yearning for the sticky heat of summer.
On the walkway to Castle Island yesterday, Dale Martinez of South Boston wasn't complaining. Wearing a blue windbreaker and reading a book, he insisted he prefers the cooler weather. "Believe me," he said.
"I like it this way," echoed Arthur Sheehan, also of South Boston. "It's like Ireland." 