Thanksgiving in Washington, D.C.

November 2018, Cabin John Park, Maryland

This Thanksgiving will be one of DC’s coldest in recent memory.  Although today’s high temperature of 42° occurred just after midnight, temperatures this afternoon will remain in the 30s across much of the DC Metro Area.  That would be colder than average for the height of winter in January, much less late November.  Today’s average high temperature in Washington, D.C. is 55° but temperatures will be significantly colder than that.  These frigid temperatures are easily the coldest so far this fall season. 

The last time high temperatures on Thanksgiving remained below 40° in Washington, D.C. was 18 years ago on November 23, 2000 when the high temperature was only 38°.  By comparison, DC’s warmest Thanksgiving on record occurred 11 years ago on November 22, 2007 with a high temperature of 77°.

Last week’s snow is long gone.  However, accumulating snow has occurred six times on Thanksgiving in Washington, D.C., with the most recent in 1989.  A total of 1.9” of snow was measured at National Airport on November 23, 1989.  November and December 1989 were both exceptionally cold and snowy months in the Nation’s Capital and remains the last time Washington, D.C. had both a white Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This month’s average temperature (combining daily high and low temperatures) in DC is 1.8° below average through November 21.  November has also been significantly wetter than average with 5.69” of rain so far.  So far this month two days have had more than an inch of rain at National Airport (DC’s official weather reporting site), which is rare so late in the year.  Saturday is poised to be another very wet day in the DC Metro Area. 

If the Nation’s Capital has another day with at least an inch of rain before December 31, then it would be the 22^nd such day of 2018.  It would set a new record for most days in a calendar year with an inch or more of rain.  November 2018 is already DC’s ninth wettest on record with 5.69” of rain and that also makes it DC’s wettest since 1972.  The good news is the weather will be sunny and dry, albeit very cold, for Thanksgiving today and shopping tomorrow.

Washington, D.C.’s Five Coldest Thanksgiving’s by Low Temperature (Source: NOAA)

1.  30°: November 27, 1930
2.  33°: November 28, 1901
     33°: November 26, 1903
3.  35°: November 23, 1989
     35°: November 28, 1996

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Washington, D.C.’s Five Warmest Thanksgiving’s by High Temperature (Source: NOAA)

1.  77°: November 22, 2007
2.  75°: November 22, 1979
     75°: November 20, 1941
     75°: November 30, 1933
3.  73°: November 24, 1927