March 2023 was the fourth consecutive warmer than average March in the Nation’s Capital. It was also DC’s third consecutive drier than average March. April is continuing that trend with record warmth and below average rainfall.
April is a highly variable weather month in Washington, D.C. that can sometimes feature chilly March-like weather. However, it can also bring summer-like warmth such as yesterday’s record highs in the mid to upper 80s across the Mid-Atlantic Region. Average daily high/low temperatures in the Nation’s Capital range from 62°/43° on April 1 to 73°/53° by April 30. DC’s hottest April temperature of 95° occurred most recently on April 17, 2002. That’s compared to DC’s coldest April temperature of 15° on April 1, 1923.
The Nation’s Capital
had 9 warmer than average April’s since 2003. 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 DC’s relatively dry April in 2016 that finished with only 2.05” of rain.
While showers and thunderstorms become more common as the spring wears on, they can occur at any point in April. Today, for example, my colleagues and I on the WUSA9 Weather Team are tracking the potential for scattered showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. It isn’t expected to be as large a severe weather event as on April 6, 2017, when two tornadoes touched down within D.C. city limits nor will it be as rainy as D.C.’s seventh wettest April day on record on April 13, 2020 with 2.33” at Reagan National Airport 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”).
Thank you for the update. Glad you can enjoy some real Spring weather in DC. Here in the Southwest we've had an unusually wet and chilly early Spring, but summer has just now begun to rear its hot head!!
ReplyDelete