How has the Weather Treated Washingtonians this Summer?

Summer 2015 has been great for spending time outdoors !

Just like Charles Dickens’ famous work A Tale of Two Cities, this summer has been a tale of two extremes in the Nation’s Capital.  Starting June 1, the first six weeks of “meteorological” summer were both appreciably wetter and warmer than average at National Airport with a total of 15.43” of rain.  That’s more than the average rainfall from May through August combined in Washington, D.C.  Although June was the second wettest on record in Washington, D.C. (and that trend continued through mid-July), it’s remarkable how the weather pattern has taken a dramatic shift the other way since then.

Since July 14, a total of only 2.68” of rain had accumulated downtown.  August has been even drier, with only 1.16” of rain through yesterday.  Meanwhile, this summer has featured the highest number of 90 degrees days in the Nation’s Capital since 2012.  The National Weather Service replaced a faulty temperature sensor in the thermometer at National Airport earlier this month, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that weather conditions have been topsy-turvy in the Mid-Atlantic Region this summer.

May featured unseasonally warm weather in the Nation’s Capital and was also abnormally dry, with less than half of its average monthly rainfall.  That trend reversed itself dramatically from June 1 through July 13 when so much rain fell.  Meanwhile, this August has been a relatively quiet weather month in the Mid-Atlantic Region.  Washington, D.C.’s hottest temperature this month was 96 degrees.

Since this summer has featured the highest number of 90 degree days in Washington, D.C., since 2012 (45 days to date compared to an average of 36), it’s interesting to compare this month to 2012.  Although August 2012 had 15 days with temperatures of at least 90 degrees, this month has seen 12 such days through yesterday.  August 2012 was also slightly drier than average with 2.78” of rain, but that’s not as dry as this month has been so far with 1.16” at National Airport.  Unlike 2012 which featured an active hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean, this tropical season has been fairly quiet so far.

The U.S. Climate Prediction Center is calling for equal chances of above or below normal temperatures and precipitation through the end of September in the Mid-Atlantic Region.  In fact, the weather for the rest of the week is actually looking quite stellar with near average temperatures in the mid to upper 80s and no chance of rain until later this weekend at the earliest.