D.C.’s Warm Start to October

 

Great Falls, Maryland

Nine of the first 10 days of October were warmer than average in Washington, D.C.  That’s helped October’s average temperature to be more than 6° above average so far. While no record highs were set, Washingtonians experienced temperatures so far this October that were more characteristic of early September.

Residents of the D.C. Metro Area have come to expect warmer than average October weather in recent years as eight of the last 10 October’s were warmer than average.  Three of the last 10 October’s also featured 90° heat.  The last time was with a record high of 98° on October 2, 2019.  Such extreme heat, though, isn’t necessary for October to be a warmer than average month. 

The warmest temperature in the Nation’s Capital during all of October 2020 was 81° on October 7, with only two days in the 80s overall.  Nevertheless, last October finished 1.1° warmer than average.  Using NOAA’s old average October temperature for the 30-year period of 1981-2010, October 2020 was even warmer (2.4° above average).  Since October has been such a warm month in the Nation’s Capital over the last decade, when NOAA updated its 30-year data set for climate purposes last winter to reflect 1991-2020, DC’s average October temperature jumped from 59.5° to 60.9°.

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center expects warmer than average temperatures to continue for the next six to 10 days in the Mid-Atlantic Region, with near normal precipitation.  However, since the first third of the month was so dry, it would take above average rainfall the rest of the way for October to finish with merely average rainfall.  October weather is not a reliable predictor of what the upcoming winter weather will be like.  Last October was warmer and wetter than average in the Nation’s Capital, yet Washingtonians had only 5.4” of snow during the entire 2020-2021 winter season, less than half of the seasonal average.

Washington, D.C.’s Warmest October’s (Source: NOAA)

1.  67.1° (2007)
2.  65.2° (1984)
3.  64.9° (2017)
4.  64.7° (1971)
5.  64.5° (1947)
6.  64.4° (1941)
7.  64.1° (2019)
8.  63.4° (1949)
9.  63.3° (1973)
10.  63.2° (1975, 1919)
12.  63.1° (2016)