WASHINGTON — This July is fourth, but not in a way that has to do with Independence Day.
Dubious though the honor may be, July 2018 is the fourth-wettest July on record for the Washington area.
At regional airports, Reagan National has seen the least rain this July, with 9.7 inches. That trails only 1905, which saw 9.95 inches; 1886, which saw 10.63 inches, and 1945, which saw 11.06 inches.
It is, however, the wettest July that Dulles International Airport has ever seen: 11.04 inches.
And it is also the wettest July for BWI Marshall Airport, measuring in at 16.67 inches.
“What is most impressive is that all of this rain has fallen in only half a month,” Storm Team4 meteorologist Chuck Bell told WTOP.
“[Reagan National] had zero inches through from the 1st to the 16th of July.”
The upshot to all the storms is that they have kept temperatures lower.
“The rain has held 90-degree days in check,” Bell said. “Only one of the 12 days in the 90s this month has come during the rainy half of the month. By comparison, we had 20 days in the 90s last July, 23 the year before that.”
So how much water are we talking about here?
“D.C. is only 68 square miles in size — 9.7 inches of rain over that area equals over 11 billion gallons of water,” Bell said.
Current conditions
Forecast
Dry isn’t going to be part of the forecast this week.
“High rain chances are a big part of the forecast for today, especially this evening,” Bell said. “And then on through tomorrow, Thursday, Friday — rain chances continue each and every day into the weekend.”
“The clouds will keep afternoon highs in the low 80s today; a few peeks of sun tomorrow, mid- to upper 80s tomorrow afternoon. Mid- to upper 80s again for Thursday, Friday,” he said.
But don’t be fooled, Bell warned.
“Those rain chances remain very high each day all the way through the weekend,” he said.
- Wednesday: Mostly cloudy to overcast, highs in the upper 80s, afternoon showers and thunderstorms
- Thursday: Mostly cloudy to overcast, highs in the upper 80s, afternoon showers and thunderstorms
- Friday: Mostly cloudy, highs in the mid-80s, afternoon showers and thunderstorms
- Saturday: Mostly cloudy, highs in the mid- to upper 80s, afternoon rain chance
- Sunday: Mostly cloudy, highs near 90, afternoon rain chance
