Did anybody else get a weird sunburn while in Tacoma?

[Rev. Day-Bu]

I was at the Kerry rally Saturday (Aug. 28) in Tacoma. Although it was mostly overcast with only a few sunbreaks, I came back with a sunburn all over my face. It doesn't make sense. The sun wasn't out much. On the other hand, one of those brilliant spotlights was glaring straight at me all day. I was way across the crowd, but it was painted straight at me. Could I have possibly gotten a burn from the spotlight?



Any idea what the hell happened? It's really weird. Although I've had worse sunburns than this a few times, it still is modestly painful, especially on my forehead.

So, am I the only one who got this strange sunburn Saturday?

[soothsayer]

1. Well, the sunburn rays still shine thru overcast skies

and some folks say that the water vapor in the clouds actually can make it stronger (not sure that's true---I think it's that you aren't as aware of your exposure to the sun and therefore surprised by the burn)

On edit: why did they have a spotlight on during the day?

[Warpy]

2. Worst sunburn I ever got

was on a misty, overcast day in Miami.

You can get burnt whenever the sun is up, if you're out long enough. The rays that burn are ultraviolet, and they penetrate cloud cover very nicely.

That "spot" is just a scoop, used to throw a lot of light over a fairly wide area, used on TV sets all the time. It wouldn't produce enough ultraviolet to give you any sort of burn, although I'm sure it was annoying. They were just trying to throw enough light to get crowd shots. You'll probably see your red face on some commercial in the future.

[Gman]

3. You can get burned on a cloudy day

sometimes even more severe than a sunny day because you're not as aware.

[volosong]

4. UV rays from the sun penetrate the clouds easily

So you can get a bad sunburn on an overcast day.

Trust me, I'm a doctor.

[Rev. Day-Bu]

5. Ahhh... thanks!

Well, that clears it up. Damn clouds tricked me into thinking I was safe. ;)

Thanks for the explanations!

[geniph]

6. Yes, both my husband and I got sunburnt faces

I look like Rudolph!

[AntiCoup2K4]

7. I got an awful sunburn a few weeks ago

It was pouring rain that morning, so sunblock wasn't on my list of priorities. By noon the sun was out, and before I realized it, my ears were burned so badly that the skin was peeling off (ouch!) Luckily my face didn't get hit that bad. That was in a different part of Tacoma, but maybe the ozone layer's even thinner there from all the years of pollution. The phrase "Aroma of Tacoma" exists for a reason. In fact, the first time I was ever at the Tacoma Dome shortly after it opened (1985?) I remember feeling something falling from the sky.... and it was August so it wasn't snow - and no seagulls flying overhead. It's gotten better since then, but I wouldn't be surprised if some upper layers of the air suffered long term damage.