Where did the summer go?

NOAA's August 2025 temperature outlook

Following the tenth hottest July in the nation’s capital, a major shift in the weather pattern has temperatures feeling more like September. That's especially welcome news, since August is traditionally the second hottest month of the year. 

Average daily high/low temperatures in Washington, D.C. range from 89°/72° on August 1 to 86°/69° on August 31. D.C.’s hottest August temperature was 106° on August 6, 1918, and is also tied for D.C.’s hottest overall temperature. Meanwhile, the coolest August temperature of 49° has occurred three times, most recently on August 29, 1986.

On rare occasions, August is the warmest month of the summer. There have been four such instances over the last 20 years, most recently in 2018. Triple-digit heat is also less common in August than in July. And, there’s been 100-degree heat in only two of the last 10 August’s. Since official weather records began in 1871, the nation’s capital has seen 34 August days of triple-digit heat, down from 68 in July, but ahead of June (17) and September (4).

August is one of the drier months of the year in Washington, D.C. with NOAA’s updated rainfall average of 3.25”. There have been three August’s since 2010 that were significantly drier than average (2019, 2015, 2013). In an average year, August is wetter than only four other months (January, February, April and November). Unlike August, those months see essentially no rainfall from decaying tropical systems.

August's comfortable weather will continue for the short term, but NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center expects this month to be warmer and wetter than average for the D.C. Metropolitan Area.