January’s wild temperature swings

A frigid January morning in Washington, D.C. (Credit: Robin Beal)

January is traditionally the coldest month of the year in the nation’s capital based on average temperatures. However, there has been an even 50/50 split over the last decade with January’s that were either warmer or colder than average. For example, January 2023 was DC’s third warmest on record. That’s in contrast to last January that finished as DC’s coldest since 2014.

The nation’s capital has experienced some particularly cold stretches of January weather over the last decade. January 2018 was a great example of this as temperatures climbed above freezing only once between January 1 – January 7. The coldest day during this period was January 7 with a high/low of only 23°/8°.

January 2025 featured DC’s coldest stretch of weather since 2018 with temperatures that remained below freezing on four consecutive days (January 20 – January 23). There was a similar stretch in January 2024 when temperatures in the nation’s capital remained at or below freezing on four days in a six-day period (January 15 – January 20). However, Washingtonians also saw a hard pivot to warmer than average temperatures in late-January 2024.

DC’s high temperature on January 26, 2024, set a daily and monthly record of 80°. December now remains the only month that no 80-degree warmth has been observed in the nation’s capital. By comparison, 32 years ago today was the last time temperatures fell below 0°. That January 19 record low in Washington, D.C. of -4° occurred in 1994.

Although the first half of this January was more than 2° above average in the nation’s capital, the second half of the month will feature plenty of colder than average temperatures. That will help this month finish with a closer to normal monthly average temperature.