Washington DC Temperatures: Averages by Month
The numbers here tell you how hot and cold the weather usually is in Washington DC during each month of the year.
The average high and low temperatures are listed below monthly and annually for Washington, in both degrees Fahrenheit and Celsius.
Maximums and minimums are only part of the temperature picture. To fill in the rest, there's information on how many days a month get above or below a given temperature.
To find out how often it rises over 70, 80 or 90 °F each month in the capital city, scroll down farther. There are also monthly and yearly counts of days with cold weather.
All the numbers are long-term historical averages based on climate data gathered from 1981 to 2010 at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.
High °F | Low °F | High °C | Low °C | |
---|---|---|---|---|
43 | 29 | January | 6 | -2 |
47 | 31 | February | 8 | -1 |
56 | 38 | March | 13 | 3 |
67 | 47 | April | 19 | 8 |
75 | 57 | May | 24 | 14 |
84 | 66 | June | 29 | 19 |
88 | 71 | July | 31 | 22 |
87 | 70 | August | 30 | 21 |
80 | 62 | September | 26 | 17 |
68 | 51 | October | 20 | 10 |
58 | 41 | November | 14 | 5 |
47 | 33 | December | 8 | 0 |
67 | 50 | Year | 19 | 10 |
Days of Hot Weather in Washington DC
On the hottest days in Washington DC, the thermometer reaches into the 90s Fahrenheit. Hot weather generally shows up periodically from May to September. Some years even get a 90-plus degrees day in April or October.
Temperatures sometimes climb to 100 degrees or more, but that's not a yearly event. A day with 100-degree heat can happen in July or August.
70 °F 21 °C |
80 °F 27 °C |
90 °F 32 °C | |
---|---|---|---|
January | 0 | 0 | 0 |
February | 1 | 0 | 0 |
March | 1 | 1 | 0 |
April | 11 | 3 | 0 |
May | 23 | 10 | 1 |
June | 29 | 23 | 6 |
July | 31 | 29 | 12 |
August | 31 | 27 | 8 |
September | 27 | 14 | 2 |
October | 13 | 3 | 0 |
November | 3 | 0 | 0 |
December | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Year | 172 | 110 | 31 |
How Often Washington Has Cold Temperatures
Freezing night-time temperatures can arrive anytime in Washington from November to April. Normally the thermometer doesn't get above 32 °F on eight days a year. Crisp days can occur during December, January or February, and even in March.
The coldest nights in the capital drop down to 0 degrees F (-18 °C). A night that chilly is rare though, happening only about once a decade, typically in January. Even lows in the 10 to 19 degree range are uncommon here, occurring on average just once a year.
20 °F -8 °C |
32 °F 0 °C |
40 °F 4 °C | |
---|---|---|---|
January | 6 | 19 | 28 |
February | 2 | 16 | 25 |
March | 0 | 7 | 19 |
April | 0 | 1 | 5 |
May | 0 | 0 | 0 |
June | 0 | 0 | 0 |
July | 0 | 0 | 0 |
August | 0 | 0 | 0 |
September | 0 | 0 | 0 |
October | 0 | 0 | 2 |
November | 0 | 4 | 14 |
December | 2 | 15 | 26 |
Year | 10 | 61 | 120 |
Reference
National Climatic Data Center. NOAA's 1981-2010 Climate Normals.