The first trimester of October ended in the Washington area on Saturday in a day that seemed pleasantly warm but sufficiently dry to create disquiet.

Merely to say it did not rain seems a negative approach to a day and season of which so much more positive could be said. For example, afternoon temperatures in the 70s seemed incontestably comfortable.

In addition, the sunset blended streaks of orange light with streamers of gray clouds into what seemed a scene of harmony and contrast. On trees and foliage the green of leaves seemed increasingly ready to yield to the tint of gold.

But the latest edition of the U.S. Drought Monitor indicated that a substantial swath of eastern Loudoun County has been experiencing severe drought. The same was reported of an adjoining patch of Fairfax County

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