April's Chilly and Wet Start

 

Despite being a warmer than average month in the Nation’s Capital, overall, March finished on a cold note with five of its final six days that were colder than average.  That cooler than average weather pattern has continued well into April.  Today will be D.C.’s eighth cooler than average day out of April’s first 10 days.  This month has also gotten off to a damp start with measurable rainfall on six of the first nine days of the month.

April is a highly variable weather month that can sometimes feature chilly, March-like weather early in the month as Washingtonians have seen so far this month.  Average daily high/low temperatures range from 62°/43° on April in the Nation’s Capital to 73°/53° by April 30.  D.C.’s hottest April temperature of 95° occurred most recently on April 17, 2002.  That’s compared to D.C.’s coldest April temperature of 15° on April 1, 1923.    

The Nation’s Capital has had 10 warmer than average April’s and 9 that were cooler than average since 2002.  April 2017 and April 2019 were D.C.’s warmest and second warmest on record.  Sandwiched in between was April 2018 that finished as D.C.’s coolest since 1997.  That helps illustrate how changeable D.C.’s spring weather can be from one year to the next.

D.C. averages 3.21” of rain in April, according to NOAA’s updated data that reflects the 30-year period of 1991-2020.  The Nation’s Capital had a high degree of variability in April rainfall over the last decade.  April 2014 and April 2020 each rank among D.C.’s 10 wettest.  That’s compared to last April that finished more than an inch drier than average (2.20”).  Showers and thunderstorms become more common as the spring wears on.  For example, D.C.’s seventh wettest April day on record occurred less than two years ago with 2.33” at Reagan National Airport on April 13, 2020 during a severe weather outbreak.  The latest in the spring that measurable snowfall has occurred in the Nation’s Capital was April 28, 1898 (0.5”).

There’s already been 2.78” of rain so far this month, putting April 2022 less than half an inch from its monthly rainfall average.  NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center expects this month to finish with above average temperatures and above average rainfall in the Nation’s Capital.