Weather Quiz

True or False.

The two warmest Aprils on record in Washington, DC have occurred in the last three years.

A Warm and Dry April

April 2019 will finish as a drier and significantly warmer than average month in the Nation’s Capital.  It’s all but certain to finish as DC’s second warmest April on record (behind only April 2017).  That helps show how DC’s cooler than average April last year was an outlier, as 11 of the last 12 have now been warmer than average.  

Through yesterday, DC’s average monthly temperature (combining daily high and low temperatures) was 62.4°.  No record high temperatures or 90° heat occurred (unlike April 2017), but what has been remarkable about this month is how warm overnight low temperatures have been.  Low temperatures have been in the 60s on seven days since April 1.  That’s not supposed to occur until late-May.  Another 11 days have had low temperatures of at least 50°.

Washingtonians did set one new record high-low temperature this month, while Dulles Airport had three such records.  A record “high-low” or “max-min” temperature essentially means a daily low temperature was considerably warmer than average.  The warmest temperature this month was 84° on April 8, while DC’s coolest temperature was 34° on April 1.  On the other hand, the last time DC residents experienced 90° April heat was two years ago today when a record-tying high temperature of 91° occurred.  By coincidence, April 29 is the latest in the season Washington, D.C. has been at or below freezing with today’s record low temperature at 30° (in 1874).

Only 2.24” of rain has fallen in the Nation’s Capital this month, almost an inch below DC’s April average of 3.06”.  That doesn’t make this April unusually dry by any stretch.  However, having below average monthly rainfall is noteworthy since the past year has been so wet in the DC Metro Area.  In fact, April 2019 is only the second drier than average month over the last 13 since April 1, 2018.

Aside from being warmer and drier than average, April’s major weather story has been severe weather.  The Mid-Atlantic Region experienced severe weather on April 14, 19 and April 26.  A confirmed tornado occurred in Reston, Virginia on April 19 and another was spotted in Baltimore County, MD on April 26.  Fortunately, today’s weather is rather quiet in the Nation’s Capital with high temperatures below average in the 60s.

Warmest Aprils on Record in Washington, D.C. (Source: NOAA)

1. 63.8° (2017)
2. 62.1° (1981)
3. 62° (1994)
4. 61.6° (1985)
5. 61.2° (1960)
6. 60.9° (2010)
7. 60.6° (1941)
8. 60.1° (1980, 1977)
10. 60° (2002)