Jump to content
  • Member Statistics

    17,502
    Total Members
    7,904
    Most Online
    Weathernoob335
    Newest Member
    Weathernoob335
    Joined

Our region's extreme run


MN Transplant
 Share

Recommended Posts

13 hours ago, 87storms said:

 

compared to last year i feel like this summer has been very tame.  definitely worse out west it seems.  i could be wrong, but i don't think we've hit 100 yet and not too many upper 90s days.

Last summer was near-normal until late July, which kicked off the blowtorch that basically lasted until May this year (with a brief interruption in March).

But I agree- this summer, while above-average temp-wise, hasn't been impressive in the Big Heat dept.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, mattie g said:

I'd imagine that precip is the limiting factor for heat in most summer months: More rain/less heat v. less rain/more heat.

Absolutely. What makes this July stand out it was it was really wet and still came in about +1-2 around the airports. If it was dry then it could have been much worse. Easy top 5 imho. The 6-7 days of the month averaged well below normal. Mostly because of the summer coastal. EJ is disappointed because of wasted potential. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
On 9/23/2016 at 8:58 PM, RodneyS said:

Astronomical summer (June 21-September 23, on average) was record-setter at IAD (78.0 vs previous record of 76.8 in 2010) and second at DC/DCA (81.1 vs 81.7 in 1980).   Also, composite summer (June 1-September 23) was record-setter at both (IAD: 77.1 vs  previous record of 76.5 in 2010 and DC/DCA: 80.17 vs previous record of 80.14 in 2010).

The 2017 astronomical summer here was considerably cooler, despite the warm finish.  IAD averaged 73.5 degrees, down 4.5; and DCA averaged 77.6 degrees, down 3.5.  The IAD composite summer averaged 73.4 degrees, down 3.7; and DCA averaged 77.43 degrees, down 2.74.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

The DCA minimum yesterday (October 8th) was 75 -- by far the latest in the year that DC has had a minimum temperature that warm. The previous record-holder for a 75-degree or higher DC minimum late in the year was September 24th, when 75 was the minimum in 1970.  So, this year's was two weeks later than that. Similarly, at IAD, yesterday's 73-degree minimum eclipsed the record for a 73-degree or higher minimum there this late in the year.  The previous record-holder for a 73-degree or higher minimum there was September 9th, when 74 was the minimum last year.  So, this year's was 29 days later, although last year's still holds the record for a late 74-degree or higher minimum there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/9/2017 at 9:10 AM, RodneyS said:

The DCA minimum yesterday (October 8th) was 75 -- by far the latest in the year that DC has had a minimum temperature that warm. The previous record-holder for a 75-degree or higher DC minimum late in the year was September 24th, when 75 was the minimum in 1970.  So, this year's was two weeks later than that. Similarly, at IAD, yesterday's 73-degree minimum eclipsed the record for a 73-degree or higher minimum there this late in the year.  The previous record-holder for a 73-degree or higher minimum there was September 9th, when 74 was the minimum last year.  So, this year's was 29 days later, although last year's still holds the record for a late 74-degree or higher minimum there.

October 9, 2017 didn't quite equal the previous day in this area, but nonetheless established new record high minimums in both DC and at IAD for this late in the year.  At DCA, the minimum was 74 and at IAD was 69. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
On 10/10/2017 at 9:27 AM, RodneyS said:

October 9, 2017 didn't quite equal the previous day in this area, but nonetheless established new record high minimums in both DC and at IAD for this late in the year.  At DCA, the minimum was 74 and at IAD was 69. 

For October 2017 as a whole, DCA averaged 64.9 degrees, good enough for the third warmest October all-time in DC, with October 2007 the warmest at 67.0 degrees and October 1984 the second warmest at 65.2 degrees.  At IAD, the average was 63.1 degrees, good enough for the second warmest October there, surpassed only by 2007 at 63.6 degrees.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
On 12/31/2016 at 10:28 PM, RodneyS said:

2016 will be the new # 2 in DC, at 60.3 degrees (actually 60.4 if you compute the true 366-day average, rather than averaging the 12 monthly averages).  And IAD will also be #2 all-time, at 57.1 (vs. 57.9 in 2012).

Looks to be pretty much a done deal that 2017 will displace 2016 as second warmest in DC, despite the forecast of below normal December temperatures.  As long as the DCA December temperature lands in a range of 34.2-47.3 degrees, 2017 will average in a range of 60.4-61.4 degrees.  2012 will remain warmest at 61.5 degrees.  IAD also may finish 2017 as the second warmest, but that's more uncertain, as it would have to average between 34.3-43.5 degrees in December.  The December average temperature there might fall below 34.3 degrees, and thus 2017 would fail to displace 2016 as the second warmest. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...
On 12/2/2017 at 11:20 AM, RodneyS said:

Looks to be pretty much a done deal that 2017 will displace 2016 as second warmest in DC, despite the forecast of below normal December temperatures.  As long as the DCA December temperature lands in a range of 34.2-47.3 degrees, 2017 will average in a range of 60.4-61.4 degrees.  2012 will remain warmest at 61.5 degrees.  IAD also may finish 2017 as the second warmest, but that's more uncertain, as it would have to average between 34.3-43.5 degrees in December.  The December average temperature there might fall below 34.3 degrees, and thus 2017 would fail to displace 2016 as the second warmest. 

December 2017 at DCA came in at 39.2 degrees (0.5 below the 1981-2010 normal), and 2017 averaged 60.8 degrees, displacing 2016 (60.3) as DC's second warmest annual average temperature, behind 2012 (61.5).  Similarly, December 2017 at IAD came in at 35.0 degrees (1.6 below the 1981-2010 normal), and 2017 averaged 57.2 degrees, again displacing 2016 (57.1) as IAD's second warmest annual average temperature, with 2012 again remaining the warmest (57.9).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As best as I can tell, the two weeks ending today at DCA are the coldest in nearly 24 years.  Specifically, December 26, 2017 through January 8, 2018 averaged 22.5 degrees, and I can't find a colder two-week period since January 10-23, 1994, which averaged 22.0 degrees.  That cold snap was highlighted by one of the coldest days in DC history-- January 19th -- which saw a maximum of + 8 and a minimum of -4, which was the last sub-zero reading at DCA.  Moreover, if only the most recent 13 days are considered (December 27th to January 8th), the average was only 21.6 degrees, which was lower than the coldest 13 days in January 1994 (21.8 average during January 11th through 23rd).  To find a colder 13 days than the most recent 13, you need to go back to December 15-27, 1989, which averaged 20.5 degrees.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, RodneyS said:

As best as I can tell, the two weeks ending today at DCA are the coldest in nearly 24 years.  Specifically, December 26, 2017 through January 8, 2018 averaged 22.5 degrees, and I can't find a colder two-week period since January 10-23, 1994, which averaged 22.0 degrees.  That cold snap was highlighted by one of the coldest days in DC history-- January 19th -- which saw a maximum of + 8 and a minimum of -4, which was the last sub-zero reading at DCA.  Moreover, if only the most recent 13 days are considered (December 27th to January 8th), the average was only 21.6 degrees, which was lower than the coldest 13 days in January 1994 (21.8 average during January 11th through 23rd).  To find a colder 13 days than the most recent 13, you need to go back to December 15-27, 1989, which averaged 20.5 degrees.  

I just noted on the Capital Weather Gang discussion board that Kevin Benedict corrected one of my statements. The 13 days January 9-21, 1994 were slightly colder than the 13 days January 11-23, 1994 (21.2 vs. 21.8), and so our most recent 13 days came up 0.4 degrees shy of the coldest 13 consecutive days of January 1994. Also, January 9-22, 1994 averaged 21.6 degrees vs. 22.0 during January 10-23, 1994, and so our most recent 14 days came up 0.9 degrees shy of the coldest 14 consecutive days of January 1994.

It is interesting to note, however, that while we came up just shy of beating the 13- and 14-day January 1994 cold streaks, we did surpass the coldest 13-day streak of January 1977 (January 11-23), which averaged 21.9 degrees at DCA.  January 1977 was the 5th coldest January in DC history, at 25.4 degrees, compared with 28.8 degrees for January 1994, but it wasn't as intensely cold for any 13-day period.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

For a nearly "normal" temperature month at DCA, January 2018 was quite interesting.  While the average temperature of 35.7 degrees was only 0.3 below the 1981-2010 normal, the standard deviation of the 31 daily averages from the monthly average was 12.7 degrees.  That's the highest standard deviation for any month since February 1996, which was 13.1 degrees (highest ever for DC was the lengendary month of February 1899, which was 15.6).  Further, January 2018 precipitation was only 0.94 inches at DCA, the fourth lowest in January in DC behind only 1948 (0.31), 1872 (0.35), and 1981 (0.38).  Moreover, for the five months ending in January 2018, precipitation totalled only 6.89 inches at DCA, the third lowest for that period in DC behind only September 1930-January 1931 (5.43) and September 2001-January 2002 (5.50).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Yesterday and today marked the first time since April 29-30, 2014 that DCA recorded consecutive days with at least one inch of precipitation.  Also, during the first 11 days of February, DCA recorded more precipitation (3.78 inches) than it recorded during November 2017, December 2017, and January 2018 combined (3.44 inches).

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
1 hour ago, yoda said:

Rodney, Topper Shutt on the 6 o'clock news stated that if DCA hits 80 degrees tomorrow, it would be the earliest 80 degree record in DCA history - prior record was Feb 24, 1930.  Didn't we have an 80 degree temp in Jan or Feb of 1998 during the 1997-1998 super el nino?

No, Topper is correct.  The most memorable thing about the 1997-98 El Nino was a run of eight straight 60+ readings at DCA between January 2-9, 1998.  However, the maximum was only 69 on January 8th.  In fact, we did not reach 80 until March 27th of that year, when the maximum was 81.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, RodneyS said:

No, Topper is correct.  The most memorable thing about the 1997-98 El Nino was a run of eight straight 60+ readings at DCA between January 2-9, 1998.  However, the maximum was only 69 on January 8th.  In fact, we did not reach 80 until March 27th of that year, when the maximum was 81.

Thank you for looking that up for me - I greatly appreciate it :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, yoda said:

Thank you for looking that up for me - I greatly appreciate it :)

You're welcome.  By the way, the 84-degree February reading in 1930 was actually on the 25th.  Relative to the long-term (1872-2017) average maximum for February 25th in DC of 48.7 degrees, that represents a departure of 35.3 degrees, which is 3rd on the list of maximum departures in DC history.  Second is January 26, 1950, whose 79-degree maximum represents a departure of 36.1 degrees from the historical average maximum of 42.9 degrees for January 26th.  And number one on the list is March 23, 1907, whose 93-degree maximum represents a departure of 36.6 degrees from the historical average maximum of 56.4 degrees for March 23rd.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, RodneyS said:

You're welcome.  By the way, the 84-degree February reading in 1930 was actually on the 25th.  Relative to the long-term (1872-2017) average maximum for February 25th in DC of 48.7 degrees, that represents a departure of 35.3 degrees, which is 3rd on the list of maximum departures in DC history.  Second is January 26, 1950, whose 79-degree maximum represents a departure of 36.1 degrees from the historical average maximum of 42.9 degrees for January 26th.  And number one on the list is March 23, 1907, whose 93-degree maximum represents a departure of 36.6 degrees from the historical average maximum of 56.4 degrees for March 23rd.

Today made it to 82 at DCA and 80 at IAD, for the earliest 80+ readings at both airports.  The 82 at DCA was 34.7 degrees above the 1872-2017 average of 47.3 for February 21st in DC.  I believe that ties today with March 22, 1907 for the 4th largest maximum departure in DC history. The latter day reached 90 degrees, relative to the 1872-2017 average of 55.3 for March 22nd in DC.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

February 2018 at DCA was not as warm as last year's record-setter of 47.7 degrees, but its 45.3 degree average was good enough for 3rd place all-time in DC, behind only last year and February 1976 (46.9).  The warm finish to the meteorological winter brought the 3-month average to 40.0 degrees, with a true 90-day average of 39.9.  Each average was 3.9 degrees below last year's respective averages, but still warm enough for the 29th all-time warmest meteorological winter in DC.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

The week of Sunday, May 13, 2018 through Saturday, May 19, 2018 saw at least 0.4 inches of precipitation at DCA each of those seven days.  Previously, no more than five consecutive days in DC weather history recorded at least 0.4 inches each day. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess I should have just listed that AFD, so here it is (sorry)

It has been an unusually wet pattern over the last week. For DCA
(Reagan National), there has been at least 1/4" of rain each of
the last 7 days. This is the longest streak on record. The previous
longest was 5 days in 2011, 2009, 1975, 1950, 1942, and 1937.
Precipitation records date back to 1871
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, GramaxRefugee said:

I guess I should have just listed that AFD, so here it is (sorry)


It has been an unusually wet pattern over the last week. For DCA
(Reagan National), there has been at least 1/4" of rain each of
the last 7 days. This is the longest streak on record. The previous
longest was 5 days in 2011, 2009, 1975, 1950, 1942, and 1937.
Precipitation records date back to 1871

You can view the May 2018 daily precipitation totals at DCA here under "Preliminary Monthly Climate Data" (Column 7 "WTR")-- https://w2.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=lwx

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...