March 2021 was a unique weather month in the Nation’s Capital. Despite having only five days of measurable precipitation, it finished as a wetter than average month largely due to the daily record rainfall total of 1.69” on March 24. It was also a warm month and finished tied for DC’s eleventh warmest on record.
Temperatures rise significantly during the month of April the second month of meteorological spring. Although temperatures rarely fall below freezing in the Nation’s Capital after mid-March, lows this morning fell did across much of the DC Metro Area. That follows yesterday’s low temperature of 31° at National Airport, which was DC’s first April temperature at or below 32° since April 10, 2016.
Average high/low
temperatures in Washington, D.C. range from 62°/42° on April 1 to 71°/52° on
April 30. According to NOAA, DC’s warmest April temperature on record of
95° has occurred four times, most recently on April 17, 2002. Also, 90°
heat is relatively rare in the Nation’s Capital and most recently occurred on
April 29, 2017 (91°). By comparison, DC’s coldest April temperature
remains the record low of 15° on April 1, 1923. That pre-dates National
Airport where DC’s weather measurements have been made since World War II. DC’s coldest April temperature at National
Airport is 24° on April 7, 1982.
Two of the last three April’s have been cooler than average in the Nation’s Capital. But, 16 of the last 20 have been warmer than average dating back to 2001. While this month has gotten off to a chilly start, several days of above average temperatures are on tap for next week.
DC residents average 3.06” of rain during the month of April. Twelve of the last 20 Aprils have been wetter than average in the Nation’s Capital. Last April, for example, finished with two days that had at least 1” of rain and was DC’s seventh wettest April on record. The daily record rainfall total of 2.33” on April 13, 2020, provided roughly a third of DC’s April 2020 rainfall total of 6.30”. Fortunately, no heavy rain or severe weather is expected in the DC Metro Area during the next several days.
What about April snows?
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading. That’s actually a good question. April snowfall in the Nation’s Capital is exceedingly rare, but not impossible. The last time any accumulating snowfall occurred in Washington, DC during the month of April was in 2007 with 0.4”. April 2007 was a cold month in the Nation’s Capital and finished more than 3° below average.
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