What stands out about DC's May weather?

 

A May day in suburban Washington, D.C.

May 2024 has been a memorable weather month in the nation's capital with 20 days of rain. Despite the frequent rainfall, it will also finish as a warmer than average month for only the second time in the last five years. 

The nation's capital had 4.30" of May rainfall as of May 30, making this a wetter than average May. While there have been a lot of rainy days, there has been very little heavy rain. That's unlike May 2018 that featured four days of at least an inch of rain and finished as DC's sixth wettest May with 8.73". By comparison, DC's rainiest day this month occurred on May 4 with 0.82".

Temperatures this month have been rather in the nation's capital. Seven of the first nine May days were warmer than average and that was followed by seven cooler than average days through May 18. However, this month will finish on a warmer than average note with above average temperatures from May 19 through May 28. 

Although DC saw its first 90-degree day of 2024 on May 2 with a high of 91°, no record warmth occurred downtown. Meanwhile, Dulles Airport saw a record high of 91° on both May 2 and May 22. DC's average monthly temperature finished at 69.3°. That's more than 2° above average and means May 2024 ranks among DC's Top 20 warmest May's.

1. 73.2° (2015)
2. 73.0° (1991)
3. 72.4° (2018)
4. 71.8° (2004)
5. 71.6° (1944)
6. 71.4° (2012)
7. 71.0° (2019)
8. 70.5° (1880)
9. 70.1° (1953)
10. 70.0° (1911)
11. 69.8° (1959)
12. 69.7° (1975)
13. 69.6° (1918)
14. 69.5° (1980)
15. 69.4° (2010, 1977)
17. 69.3° (2024)
Average: 67.2°