Feeling like fall

 

Feeling like fall, Bethesda, Maryland

After DC’s warmest first week of October since 2013, it’s felt more like late-October the last few days.  While high temperatures in the nation’s capital reached the low to mid 80s through October 6, they’ve been below average ever since.

Washingtonians interested in cooler weather should be happy that a symbolic date has arrived in the nation’s capital.  October 11 is the latest in the calendar year that it’s been 90° or hotter in Washington, D.C.  This date’s record high was set in 1919 when it reached 90°. 

The length of daylight and the angle of sunlight both decrease throughout October, so it stands to reason that average highs also decrease during the month.  By Halloween, the average high temperature in the nation’s capital is only 64 degrees.  That’s down from an average high of 75° on October 1.

However, those who are not ready for the chill of late autumn can find summer-like warmth on occasion during the first half of October.  As recently as 2019, DC residents experienced the hottest October temperature on record when it was 98° on October 2.  The nation’s capital has averaged one 90-degree October day roughly every three to four years over the last 30 years according to the National Weather Service.

October can feature a variety of weather in the Mid-Atlantic Region, from the remnants of Hurricane Opal in 1995, to the severe weather of October 2011 when weak tornadoes touched down in Virginia, to the summer-like heat of 2007 when 90-degree heat occurred on three consecutive days.  Winter-like weather can even occur in October.  For example, on October 29, 2011, the high temperature at National Airport was only 42 degrees (more characteristic of mid-January), and a trace of snow fell. 

No 90-degree heat has occurred in the nation’s capital in more than a month, since it was 93° on September 8.  Now that the symbolic date of October 11 has arrived, those looking forward to cooler weather can expect no more 90-degree heat in the Mid-Atlantic Region until next year.  Moreover, 80-degree warmth becomes less and less likely with every passing October day. 

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center expects the coolest weather of the fall season to arrive in the nation’s capital early next week with highs only in the 50s.