Feeling Like Spring

 

Due to its temperature variations, April is a unique weather month in the Nation’s Capital.  90° heat isn’t as common in April as it becomes during the second half of May.  Ten of the first 13 days of April have been warmer than average and that’s given Washingtonians a warm first half of the month (3.7° as of April 13).

However, DC residents had a very chilly start to April with lows in the low to mid 30s on the first three days.  DC’s low of 31° on April 2 was the first subfreezing April temperature in the Nation’s Capital since April 10, 2016 (also 31°).  By comparison, average high and low temperatures in Washington, D.C. range from 62°/42° on April 1 to 71°/52° on April 30.

Dating back to the early 1990s, Washington, D.C. has averaged between three and four April days with temperatures in the 80s.  There has been only one such day so far this month, but there have already been six days with highs in the 70s.  Temperatures in the Nation’s Capital have reached the 80s at least once in every April since 1999.  Ironically, the last April Washington, D.C. didn’t experience 80° warmth was in 1998, while March that year ended with a streak of 80° warmth on 4 out of 5 days.

90° temperatures are much less frequent in the Nation’s Capital.  Since 1993, there have been only 11 days at or above 90° in April.  There hasn’t been any 90° heat in the month of April since 2017.  The earliest in the year that the thermometer has reached 90° in Washington, D.C. was March 22, 1907. 

Some longtime DC residents may recall the April heat wave that occurred from April 16-18, 2002.  A “heat wave” is defined as a minimum of three consecutive days at or above 90°.  DC’s hottest April temperature of 95° has occurred four times, most recently on April 17, 2002.

How common are temperatures at or below freezing during April in Washington, D.C.?  According to records kept by NOAA, temperatures at National Airport have been at or below freezing 13 times in April dating back to 1993, prior to this month.  That includes three times in April 2016.  However, temperatures have been below 30° only twice in the Nation’s Capital during the month of April in the last 24 years.  National Weather Service data also indicates the last time measurable April snowfall occurred in Washington, D.C. was on April 7, 2007 (0.4”).