Heat? What Heat?

Triple digit heat is a true rarity for the Mid-Atlantic Region. That’s because triple digit weather is most common in arid climates away from water. Meanwhile, summers in the Nation’s Capital are often very humid. When the air is more humid, it cannot heat up or cool down as quickly. This is why summers are so hot in the desert southwest while in the southeastern United States – where the weather is heavily influenced by the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean – triple digit heat is rarer.

It only reaches the century mark every few summers in the Nation’s Capital. Prior to 2010, no triple digit heat had been experienced in Washington, D.C., since 2007.  This demonstrates how rare a single day with triple digit heat is for Washington, D.C.  It’s even rarer for there to be multiple days with triple digit heat in the Mid-Atlantic Region.  

But that’s exactly what made the summers of 2010 through 2012 so unusual. 2010 had four days of triple digit heat while 2011 had five and 2012 had eight. In fact, July 2012 set a new record for most 100 degree days in a month with seven.  The last summer to feature five 100 degree days in the Nation’s Capital was 1997.  As hot as those three summers were, last summer and so far this summer have combined to feature less extreme heat in the Mid-Atlantic Region.  In fact, it hasn’t been 100 degrees at National Airport (Washington, D.C.’s official weather reporting site) since July 26, 2012.