Perfect Labor Day Weekend Weather

 

 

Thursday, September 3 was an exceptionally active weather day in the Nation’s Capital.  My colleagues and I on the WUSA9 Weather Team issued a rare Red Weather Alert to coincide with the Tornado Watch that was issued by NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center.  There was a slew of severe weather in the DC Metro Area with multiple reports of wind damage and localized flooding.  The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado touched down in Edgewater, Maryland near Annapolis with peak wind speeds of 90 mph.  Some minor damage was associated with it but, fortunately, no injuries or fatalities were reported. 

Following Thursday’s active weather and the two hot days with highs in the 90s so far this month, Washingtonians will have stellar weather for the Labor Day weekend.  Highs in the low to mid 80s with comfortable relative humidity have combined to produce ideal weather for outdoor activities.  No 90° heat is expected during the upcoming week in the Nation’s Capital, either.

September is the busiest month of the Atlantic hurricane season and several significant tropical systems have impacted the Mid-Atlantic Region during the last 20 to 30 years.  Some retired storm names include Floyd (1999) and Isabel (2003).  Every once in a while a decaying tropical system can produce tornadoes and severe weather, as well.  Such was the case with the remnants of Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

Hurricane Fran made landfall in North Carolina 24 years ago, yesterday.  It was a Category 3 hurricane when it made landfall with sustained winds of 115 mph.  Although other significant hurricanes have impacted North Carolina since then like Floyd (1999) and Florence (2018), Fran remains the last major hurricane to have made landfall in North Carolina.  It quickly tracked northward and had major impacts in the DC Metro Area, including record rainfall and damaging wind gusts on September 6, 1996.

Washington, DC averages between three and four days of 90° heat during the month of September, dating back to the early 1990s.  However, Washingtonians endured nine days of 90° heat just last September.  No triple-digit September heat has occurred in the Nation’s Capital since 1980.  It’s interesting to note that five of DC’s 10 warmest September’s have occurred since 2005, while the most recent of DC’s 10 coolest September’s was back in 1928.