One day, when I was in kindergarten, the weather was what most would consider poor. It was both warm and raining, and the clouds made it evening-dark in the middle of the day. As someone who hates being in the rain, one would think I’d hate this kind of day: Humid and dark with thunder occasionally ringing from far away.
However, I loved this day. Kindergarten was usually loud and energetic and bright and fast and just too stimulating sometimes for a kid with ADHD. But this day was the opposite. This day was quiet, it was relaxed. We worked calmly with the rain as our soothing white noise. It felt slow, somewhat surreal, like I was in a dream. I loved it, and I continue to yearn for these days.
My opinion, though, is not just based on this single day – it wouldn’t make sense to write this article based on only one experience. Rather, I’ve noticed that the atmosphere of that day – calm, quiet, slow, and dreamlike – is something highly correlated with the dark, rainy weather. On days with this kind of weather, people just become more relaxed. I’ve experienced days that begin dark and rainy, but then change to being rainless and bright, and every time this has happened, the calm atmosphere has disappeared with the change.
Overall, dark and rainy days are peaceful, and I can scarcely think of other weather conditions that carry the same feeling. Dark and snowy is the only one even close, and that’s pretty much just a colder version of dark and rainy.
This isn’t to say that I dislike sunny days – I actually quite enjoy them. A sunny day with a nice breeze, temperature in the 70s, barely any clouds in sight is nice. Something about it is happy, and it’s conducive to going out and having fun – you wouldn’t go to an amusement park when it’s raining, after all.
But while some would say that these sunny days are the best, I’d argue that their value is hampered by the frequency with which they happen. Even if the absolute perfect combination of temperature, wind, and brightness isn’t common, weather close to it is, and that close-enough weather still carries the upbeat atmosphere. Meanwhile, truly dark and rainy days, the kind that slows people down and makes you cozy up inside as you look out the window, are rather rare. Rainy and gray, dark and dry, dark and humid; All these weather conditions are close to “dark and rainy,” but none of them carry the same atmosphere. This scarcity helps make the dark and rainy days all the more valuable, in contrast to the bright and sunny days, which honestly become a bit exhausting due to their frequency.
If I have something planned that requires good weather, such as going to an amusement park, or being dragged by my mom to go camping, I’ll of course hope for a sunny day. However, under any other circumstances, I will not hesitate to say that dark and rainy weather is by far the best.
