What was the hottest day of the summer? The coolest? The wettest? As we slide into fall, WTOP takes a look back at the summer that was.
The hottest high temperature was 101, set on Aug. 13. That day also tied for the highest low, at 81, with July 25, July 27 and Aug. 12. It was also the first of three days in a row where temperatures topped 100.
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
There were eight heat waves (defined as three days in a row in which the high temperatures go over 90) in the summer of 2016. One of them was already underway when the summer solstice happened on June 20.
(AP Photo/J. David Ake)
AP Photo/J. David Ake
It was a cloudy, rainy Fourth of July, and while the heat is what sticks out about summer 2016, the temperature only got to 74 degrees this day — tied with July 3 for the lowest high temperature of summer.
(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
Lightning lights up the sky in Northwest D.C. over Friendship Heights July 19.
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
July 19 was a wild weather day: Friendship Heights was just one of the areas pelted by hail.
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
Hailstones (note the coins for size) fell on Friendship Heights, and all over the area, July 19.
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
Trees were downed on the Mall in the July 19 storm.
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
Aug. 15 was the wettest day of summer with 1.15 inches of rainfall. A look at the skies over the Deal Middle School, in the District, and that’s not a surprise.
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
The final week of summer featured high temperatures about 5 to 10 degrees above average. Clouds from former tropical storm Julia moved over Washington on Monday and lead to a dramatic sunset on Monday, September 19 — the final sunset of summer.
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
Summer’s final sunset was a stunner. This photo was taken on Wednesday from West Potomac Park facing Arlington.
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
Summer gave way to autumn on Thursday shortly before noon. The sun sets in the due west on the Equinox. From East Capitol Street, the sun appeared to set directly behind the Capitol dome.
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
WTOP/Dave Dildine
Tropical Storm Hermine passed off the coast late in the season, and while it didn’t really soak us, we got at least one spectacular sunset.
(WTOP/Dave Dildine)
WASHINGTON — Summer 2016 began on June 20 at 6:24 p.m. EDT and ended Sept. 22 at 10:21 a.m. EDT. By any measure, it was a hot season, with several long heat waves and even record-challenging high temperatures within those heat waves.
D.C. reached 100 degrees on July 25 — the first time it has been that hot since July 26, 2012, and that was one of four times the high for D.C. was 100 or above.
The National Weather Service issued Heat Advisories for the D.C. metro area three times in July, then four more times in August; two comparatively rare Excessive Heat Warnings were issued in August, as it wasn’t just very hot, but also exceptionally humid.
There were a few severe weather outbreaks, but not a lot of precipitation in the overall area — especially not at the official measuring spot: Reagan National Airport.
Luckily, there was just enough rain, and the groundwater levels did well enough from the winter’s storms, that we were able to avoid official drought conditions. But September has been dry, and we are definitely starting out fall with a need for some good, soaking rain throughout the entire area.
