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.