Is DC’s changeable April weather normal?

 

A pretty spring scene (Photo Credit: Susan Granzow)

The nation’s capital has seen some large swings in temperature during April. These large swings in temperature are common as the transition to warmer spring weather continues.

Despite the last four days being cooler than average, DC’s average April temperature is still nearly 2.5 degrees warmer than average. Washingtonians experienced two days with June-like highs in the low 80s.

Low temperatures also remained in the 60s on two days. A major change in DC’s weather pattern followed and DC had its coolest April temperature of 34° on April 9. While not record-setting, that was DC’s coolest April temperature since it was 33° on April 3, 2021. 

Four of the last 10 April’s rank among DC’s Top 10 warmest April’s, according to National Weather Service data. Washingtonians see an average of between three and four 80-degree April days.  There have been April’s (1997, 1998) without any 80-degree warmth, while the nation’s capital had as many as nine 80-degree April days in 2017.

April temperatures in the 90s and temperatures at or below freezing are rare. The nation’s capital averages one April day in the 90s roughly every three to four years with the last occurrence on April 29, 2017 (91°). The highest number of April 90-degree days Washingtonians have seen in recent decades was three in 2002. DC’s hottest April temperature over the last 30 years was 95° on April 17, 2002.

By comparison, the nation’s capital sees April temperatures at or below freezing roughly once every four to five years. The last time Washingtonians experienced a below freezing day was on April 2, 2021 (31°). The highest number of April days over the last 30 years DC residents had temperatures of 32° or colder was in 2016 (three). DC’s coldest April temperature over the last 30 years was 28° on April 10, 1997, according to the National Weather Service.

DC’s start to April 2025 has featured some very changeable weather. This pattern fits in with what is fairly typical this time of year.