That's a wrap on August

 

August 2024 has been a memorable weather month in the nation's capital.  It has featured multiple weather extremes, including record heat and record rainfall, as well as the coolest weather in decades. It will also finish as a wetter than average August with near average temperatures.

The month got off to a very hot start with above average temperatures on nine of the first 10 days.  However, there was a hard pivot to cooler than average temperatures between August 11 - August 25.  That included lows in the 50s on August 21 - August 22 for the first time since 2004.  Dulles Airport was even cooler with a record low of 49° on August 22.  Dulles hadn't been in the 40s during the month of August, prior to this, since 1998.

The final week of August saw a major swing back to extreme heat.  The four-day stretch from August 26 - 29 was as hot as any late-season heat wave of recent memory. DC had a record high of 101° on August 28.  Not only was that a record high for the date, but it was DC's first instance of triple-digit heat in August since 2016.  It was also DC's hottest temperature this late in the season since September 2, 1980 (also 101°).

The large swing in temperatures, from hot to cool to very hot, will produce near average temperatures for the entire month.  August 2024 will finish as DC's third warmest month of the year, behind both June and July. That's notable since August is normally DC's second warmest month of the year.  However, June 2024 was unusually warm and finished as DC's second warmest on record.  Thus, August will finish with an average temperature of 79.3°, compared to 79.7° in June.

August has also been a wet month in the nation's capital. It was largely due to the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby after its August 8 landfall in South Carolina.  A total of 3.31" of rain was recorded at National Airport from August 8 - August 10, which was more than half of DC's monthly total of 4.58".  Meanwhile, Dulles Airport saw 1.64" from Debby's remnants for a sizeable percentage of its monthly rainfall total of 4.99".