DC’s Warming Trend Continues

 

Cherry blossoms in peak bloom !  Bethesda, Maryland

Despite a stretch of cooler than average weather mid-month, March 2023 will finish as a warmer than average month in the Nation’s Capital.  There have been several interesting March temperature swings as part of the larger story of 2023 getting off to a significantly warmer than average start.

January and February were each so warm in the Nation’s Capital, that the 2022-2023 winter season finished as the third warmest on record.  Those two months produced a combined total of only seven cooler than average days in Washington, D.C.  That warm trend continued into March with DC not seeing its first cooler than average day until March 10.  However, March became quite chilly with eight cooler than average days between March 10 and March 21.  That includes the January-like day of March 19 that saw a high/low of only 43°/29° at National Airport. 

But, the cold was short-lived, with June-like warmth on March 23 and a high of 84°.  That was DC’s warmest temperature since September 21 (86°).  While not record-setting, 84° isn’t DC’s average daily high temperature until June 10.  It was also DC’s warmest March temperature since March 26, 2021 (also 84°) and made this the fourth consecutive March at least one 80° day has occurred.  The Nation’s Capital has averaged one 80° March day only every other year, according to the last 30 years of NOAA data.

While this month will finish warmer than average, it won’t be as warm as some recent March’s were in the Nation’s Capital.  There has been only two days with highs in the 70s this month, compared to the 30-year average of four such days.  Assuming this month finishes with only two days in the 70s, it will be the lowest such total since 2018 (also two) and will be a far cry from last March’s total of eight. 

This has also been a drier than average month and was poised to be D.C.’s third driest March through March 23.  However, the 0.93” of rainfall over the two-day period of March 24-25 knocked this month out of the top 10 driest March’s.  It was beneficial rain, too, since six of the seven previous months were drier than average in the Nation’s Capital.  Specifically, Washington, D.C. had accrued a rainfall deficit of 4.93” from August 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023.  Making up as much of that rainfall deficit as possible this spring is important with the warmer summer months on the horizon.