WASHINGTON — This week’s frigid air has ushered in a new set of temperatures for the cold weather record books.
All three major airports in the D.C. region recorded historic lows, including five degrees at Reagan National Airport on Friday.
The previous record low for February 20 was eight degrees, set back in 1896.
The airport did not even exist until 1941.
“A lot of our weather records go back to just after the civil war,” says National Weather Service Meteorologist Chris Strong.
The spot where the official D.C. temperature is recorded has moved around over a small area through the decades.
“It was at M Street and 23rd for quite a while,” Strong says. “There are rules on how far you can move it, just to make sure that it is still a representative for the area.”
Elsewhere, record lows were broken at Dulles International Airport Friday, Thursday and Sunday.
BWI Marshall Airport broke record lows Friday, Thursday, Monday and Sunday.
