The end of summer?

 

A late August day at the Avenel Park, Potomac, MD

The second half of August 2026 has felt more like September in the nation’s capital. This month will finish warmer than average. It will also become DC’s third wetter than average August in the last four years.

Following such a hot and humid June and July; that included four days of triple-digit heat, the stretches of cooler than average weather this month were welcome by residents of the DMV (DC, Maryland and Virginia). DC’s warmest temperature this month was 94°. High temperatures today could reach the low 90s and that would give Washingtonians 12 days of 90-degree heat. That’s right at DC’s average of between 10 and 11 days of 90-degree August heat over the last 30 years, according to NOAA data .

There has been a lot of fluctuation in August temperatures over the last decade. For example, the nation’s capital saw only five days in the 90s last August which was DC’s coolest since 2000. Meanwhile, a total of 20 days of 90-degree heat occurred in August 2016 when DC experienced its second hottest August on record. This August will finish almost a full degree warmer than average, giving DC residents the first warmer than average August since 2022. 

Unlike last August that finished as DC’s driest on record with only 0.2” of rain, this month has been wetter than average with 4.27” as of August 30. That’s welcome news for the DMV that has been mired in drought conditions for much of the year.

Although drought conditions have improved for much of the DMV over the course of the month, widespread areas of “abnormally dry” conditions still exist in the immediate DC Area, along with other areas of “moderate drought” conditions. The near record-setting heat on tap with highs in the mid to upper 90s for much of this week will exacerbate these dry conditions.