DC’s Rainy Start to 2024

 

Spring has sprung in the nation's capital !

The first three months of 2024 have been rainier than average with a rainfall surplus of 3.31”. March will finish up with 4.89” of rain, appreciably more than DC’s March average of 3.5”, according to NOAA.

Measurable rainfall has occurred on 14 days this month. That includes March 23 when 1.61" of rain fell at National Airport. That was DC's highest daily March rainfall total in three years.  March is typically a very changeable weather month with large swings in temperature and precipitation in the nation's capital. Since the first half of the month was much warmer than average, no measurable snowfall occurred. 

Although February 2024 was drier than average, January 2024 was DC's seventh wettest on record. March will finish as DC's rainiest since 1998. DC's annual rainfall total of 12.18" puts us in a very different place than a year ago. The nation's capital had a rainfall deficit of 3.65" for the three month period of January 1 - March 31, 2023. Drought conditions developed last April and continued into last spring and summer. 

This year couldn't be more different. DC's wetter than average weather pattern actually began in November 2023 and, with the exception of February, has continued unabated since then. The wetter than average conditions combined with the warmer than average temperatures contributed to an early start to the spring allergy season. The National Park Service said DC's world famous cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin reached their second earliest peak bloom on March 17, 2024. 

March 2024 will finish among DC's Top 10 warmest with a monthly average temperature (combining daily high and low temperatures) of 51.8°. That's despite the second half of the month featuring predominantly cooler than average temperatures.  This is also DC's rainiest March since 1998.

Nationals home opener weather

 

Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.

The first game of the baseball season at Nationals Park represents a new season full of possibilities. The weather to start the season often varies quite a bit from one year to the next. Check out this story I wrote for the WUSA9 website for more details.

A tale of two seasons in D.C.

 

Blossoms along the Tidal Basin

March picked up where last month ended with lots of above-average temperatures. In fact, 16 of the first 17 days of March 2024 were warmer than average in the nation’s capital. However, there was a significant shift in the weather pattern last week that has it feeling more like late-February.

Not only did this month get off to a warm start, but it also got off to a rainy start with measurable rainfall on eight of the first 10 days. Another 1.61” of rain occurred in the nation’s capital on March 23. Although not record-setting, that was DC’s rainiest March day in nearly three years since March 24, 2021 (1.69”). With 4.04” of rain so far this month, it’s tied with 2015 as DC’s second wettest March of the last decade. 

Having a wetter than average March is important as spring gets underway. Last March was one of several drier than average months to start 2023. That led to drought conditions across much of the DC Metro Area for long stretches of last spring and summer. That hasn’t been an issue so far this year with an annual rainfall surplus of more than three inches. 

DC’s world famous cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin reached their second earliest peak bloom on record on March 17, according to the National Park Service. However, six of the seven days since then have been cooler than average. In fact, the daily low fell to 32° on March 21 for the first time in nearly a month.

Since the first half of March was so much warmer than average, March 2024 could still rank among DC's Top 10 warmest despite the cooler than average weather over the last week. Weather records in the nation's capital date back to the 1870s.

The warmer than average temperatures for long stretches of 2024 have helped the allergy season start earlier than it otherwise would have. Meanwhile, the cool temperatures over the last week have helped the cherry blossoms last longer in peak bloom. Once the cherry blossoms reach peak bloom, then gusty winds, heavy rain and extreme heat are their biggest risks.

DC’s Warmest March’s (Source: NOAA)

1. 56.8° (2012)
2. 56.2° (1945)
3. 55.5° (1921)
4. 53.5° (2016)
5. 53.2° (2020)
6. 53.0° (1946)
7. 52.7° (1977)
8. 51.7° (2000)
9. 51.5° (1979)
10. 51.3° (1976)