Record June Heat Slams D.C. Metro

 

Record high temperatures were set at all three D.C. Area airports on Friday, June 17.  Although summer officially gets underway in June, this month typically isn’t as hot as July and August.  However, there are some notable exceptions.

Such was the case yesterday when record heat was experienced across the entirety of the D.C. Metro Area.  The high of 99° was D.C.’s hottest June day in nearly 10 years.  The last time it was 99° or hotter in the Nation’s Capital during the month of June was on June 29, 2012 (104°).  No June has had more than one day of 100° heat in the Nation’s Capital.

D.C.’s two warmest June’s are good examples of the rare exception when June isn’t the “coolest” of the three unofficial months of summer.  June 1994 featured a 14-day heat wave from June 13 – 26 that was the longest of the summer.  The hottest day was June 15 with a record high temperature of 101°.  A total of five record highs were set during the month, including three consecutive records from June 14 – 16 that still stand.   With a monthly average temperature of 79.4° (combining daily high/low temperatures), June 1994 was warmer than August 1994 (75.5°).

June 2010 was even hotter.  With a monthly average temperature of 80.6°, June 2010 was hotter than August 2010 (80.2°).  June 2010 featured 18 days of 90° heat, with an 11-day heat wave from June 19 – 29.  Six of those 18 days had high temperatures of 95°/+.  D.C. residents had a record high of 100° on June 24.  The summer of 2010 remains the hottest on record in the Nation’s Capital with an average temperature (for June, July and August) of 81.3°. 

Yesterday’s heat was memorable in the Nation’s Capital for not only setting daily records but and was D.C.’s hottest temperature since July 20, 2020 (also 99°).  While it hasn’t been 100° in the Nation’s Capital during the month of June since 2012, it has been 100° more recently not during the month of June.  Although Washington, D.C. hasn’t been 100° since August 15, 2016; Dulles Airport reached 100° more recently on July 21, 2019. 

June 17 Record Highs (Source: National Weather Service)

Washington, D.C. (National Airport: DCA) – 99° (old record 97°: 2014)
Dulles Airport, Sterling, Virginia – 96° (old record 92°: 1994)
Baltimore, Maryland (BWI Airport) – 96° (tied existing record of 96°: 1939)