Ranking DC’s July heat

 

Washington, D.C. went from seeing no triple-digit heat for nearly eight years before it finally reached 100° on June 22. That helped last month finish as DC’s second warmest June on record and was a harbinger of what was to come.

July not only picked up where June left off, but will finish as one of DC’s warmest July’s on record. That’s due to two separate stretches of record-setting heat. The first was from July 4 – July 11 when DC’s average high/low temperature was 97°/78.38°. Although no triple-digit heat occurred, highs ranged from 95°-99° on seven of these eight days. 

Next, highs reached 101°/+ on four consecutive days for the first time from July 14 – July 17. New record highs of 101° and 102°, respectively, were set on July 14 and July 15 at National Airport. A record-tying high of 104° also occurred on July 16.

Making this month particularly hot is how warm the overnights have remained with lows at or above 80° on six days. Seventeen of the first 21 days of July were warmer than average and that coincided with unusually dry weather. Only 1.09” of rain fell at National Airport through July 21. However, the final 10 days of the month have been cooler and wetter downtown with 3.21" of rain. 

Those cooler than average days are what will ultimately keep this July from finishing as DC’s warmest on record. With an average temperature of 83.7° as of July 30, this month will finish as the fourth warmest on record. That will also make July 2024 the seventh Top 10 warmest to occur just since 2010.

DC's Warmest July's (Source: NOAA)

1. 84.5° (2011)
2. 84.0° (2012)
3. 83.9° (2020)
4. 83.7° (2024)
5. 83.1° (2010, 1993)
6. 83.0° (1999)
7. 82.7° (2016)
8. 82.6° (1987)
9. 82.3° (1980)
10. 82.1° (2019, 1955)

Weather Quiz

 

Whether or not the nation's capital sees any more triple-digit heat this summer, DC's annual total of five such days is already the highest total since?

A. 1988

B. 2011

C. 2012

D. 2016

A closer look at DC's 2024 summer heat

 

The first half of summer mirrors some of DC's historic summers, such as that of 1930.  Check out this story I wrote for the WUSA9 website.

Sweltering heat waves

 

The nation's capital

The nation's capital recently experienced only its second ever stretch of four consecutive days of triple-digit heat as measured at Reagan National Airport. There have been just five instances of at least three consecutive days of triple-digit heat since 1980.

2024: From July 14 - 17, Washingtonians saw daily high temperatures of at least 101°. The July 16 high temperature of 104° not only tied a record high for the date, but was DC's hottest temperature in more than 12 years since July 7, 2012 (105°). The average daily high/low temperatures for this four-day stretch was 102°/79.5°.

2016: High temperatures were at least 100° from August 13 - 15 and produced an average daily high/low of 100.33°/78°. The hottest temperature during this stretch was 101° on August 13.

2012: This July was DC's second hottest on record with the hottest stretch being from July 5 - 8 when highs were all in the triple-digits. The average high/low temperatures for this period were 101.75°/80°. High temperatures reached 100° a total of seven times this month with the hottest temperature being 105° on July 7.

1993: The stretch in July 2012 was DC's first of at least three days of triple-digit heat in almost two decades since this July 8 - 10. High temperatures reached 100° on all three days with an average low temperature during this stretch of 78.33°

1988: The 1988 summer was another hot one for Washingtonians with a seasonal total of seven days of triple-digit heat. The three-day period of July 15 - 17 produced almost half of that total with a rare streak of 100° days. The hottest temperature of the year was 104° on July 16 that broke the daily record high of 103° from 1980. The nation's capital tied the July 16 record high of 104° on my birthday last week.