Washington still dry, but days get longer After many days of gray skies and clouds, Friday was all blue sky and brightness in Washington, a fitting start to the 80 longest and sunniest days of the year. On Friday, for the first time this year, the sun rose before 6 a.m. in Washington, an official mark of 5:59 a.m., to be exact.Sunrise to sunset tallied 14 hours and 12 minutes. Days will get longer until June 20, the summer solstice. Their length will then decline, and will be no longer than Friday's mark (give or take a minute) on July 30, which is 80 days away. Meanwhile, the stretch of dark and gray days finally brought substantial rainfall to an area that has seen relatively little of it. On Wednesday, more than half an inch was measured at Reagan National Airport. It was by far the wettest day this month, which so far has posted below the normal 1.21 inches. It was also one of the wetter days of what has been an unusually dry year. Since Jan. 1, precipitation has been about 37 per cent below the normal 13.31 inches. The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang said the first four months of 2012 were Maryland's driest since recordkeeping began in 1895. The state averaged 8.74 inches of rain.