Climateby Month

Washington, DC climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 24 ft elevation · also covers Arlington, Alexandria

Summers in Washington are hot and oppressively humid; winters are chilly. Highs peak at 90°F in July and fall to 45°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 8 to 12 a month. Normal snowfall is about 14 in a year. The most comfortable time to visit is April, May and October.

Warmest month
90°F
July normal high
Coldest month
30°F
January normal low
Wet days a year
118
41.8 in of precipitation
Snow a year
13.7 in
normal snowfall

How warm is Washington?

Normal highs range from 45°F in January to 90°F in July.

20°40°60°80°100° January: normal high 45°F (7°C), low 30°F (-1°C) 45° 30° February: normal high 48°F (9°C), low 32°F (0°C) March: normal high 57°F (14°C), low 39°F (4°C) April: normal high 68°F (20°C), low 48°F (9°C) May: normal high 77°F (25°C), low 58°F (14°C) June: normal high 85°F (29°C), low 68°F (20°C) July: normal high 90°F (32°C), low 72°F (22°C) 90° 72° August: normal high 88°F (31°C), low 71°F (22°C) September: normal high 81°F (27°C), low 64°F (18°C) October: normal high 69°F (21°C), low 52°F (11°C) November: normal high 58°F (14°C), low 42°F (6°C) December: normal high 49°F (9°C), low 35°F (2°C) JFMAMJJASOND

Bars run from the normal low to the normal high for each month.

How rainy is Washington?

May has the most wet days (about 12); the year brings about 42 in of precipitation.

January: 10 wet days February: 9 wet days March: 11 wet days April: 11 wet days May: 12 wet days 12 June: 11 wet days July: 11 wet days August: 9 wet days September: 9 wet days October: 8 wet days 8 November: 8 wet days December: 10 wet days JFMAMJJASOND

Wet day: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow, counted from daily records 1991-2020.

How much does it snow?

Normal snowfall is 13.7 in a year, most of it in February.

January: 4.9 in of snow February: 5.0 in of snow 5.0 March: 2.0 in of snow April: 0.0 in of snow 0.0 May: 0.0 in of snow June: 0.0 in of snow July: 0.0 in of snow August: 0.0 in of snow September: 0.0 in of snow October: 0.0 in of snow November: 0.1 in of snow December: 1.7 in of snow JFMAMJJASOND

How humid is Washington?

Muggy days peak in July, at about 21 days.

January: 0 muggy days 0 February: 0 muggy days March: 0 muggy days April: 0 muggy days May: 4 muggy days June: 13 muggy days July: 21 muggy days 21 August: 19 muggy days September: 9 muggy days October: 2 muggy days November: 0 muggy days December: 0 muggy days JFMAMJJASOND

Muggy day: daily mean dew point of 65°F or higher, from hourly observations 1991-2020 at Ronald Reagan Washington Natl Airport, 3.3 mi S of the city center.

How much daylight?

Daylight ranges from about 9.5 hours in December to 14.9 hours in June.

January: 9.8 hours of daylight February: 10.8 hours of daylight March: 12.0 hours of daylight April: 13.2 hours of daylight May: 14.3 hours of daylight June: 14.8 hours of daylight 14.8 July: 14.6 hours of daylight August: 13.6 hours of daylight September: 12.4 hours of daylight October: 11.2 hours of daylight November: 10.1 hours of daylight December: 9.5 hours of daylight 9.5 JFMAMJJASOND
See all numbers
Monthly climate normals and day counts for Washington, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 45°F30°F 2.9 in10 4.9 in 0 9.8 h
February 48°F32°F 2.6 in9 5.0 in 0 10.8 h
March 57°F39°F 3.5 in11 2.0 in 0 12.0 h
April 68°F48°F 3.2 in11 0.0 in 0 13.2 h
May 77°F58°F 3.9 in12 0.0 in 4 14.3 h
June 85°F68°F 4.2 in11 0.0 in 13 14.8 h
July 90°F72°F 4.3 in11 0.0 in 21 14.6 h
August 88°F71°F 3.3 in9 0.0 in 19 13.6 h
September 81°F64°F 3.9 in9 0.0 in 9 12.4 h
October 69°F52°F 3.7 in8 0.0 in 2 11.2 h
November 58°F42°F 2.9 in8 0.1 in 0 10.1 h
December 49°F35°F 3.4 in10 1.7 in 0 9.5 h

High and low: NOAA 1991-2020 normal daily high and low. Wet days: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow. Muggy days: daily mean dew point 65°F or higher.

Best months to visit Washington

By our comfort score, the best months are April, May and October.

Comfort score by month (0-100) and its parts, in days per month
MonthScoreComfortableNotable rainHot or cold
Jan 372612
Feb 42257
Mar 55772
Apr 691460
May 691472
Jun 55478
Jul 441715
Aug 461611
Sep 601064
Oct 671650
Nov 52751
Dec 39266

Score = 40 × share of comfortable days + 25 × share of days without notable rain + 20 × share of days neither hot (90°F+) nor cold (high 40°F or below) + 15 × daylight. How the score works.

Frost dates in Washington

The last spring frost typically comes around Mar 24, and the first fall frost around Nov 18, leaving 241 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Washington
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)Mar 24after Apr 6
First fall frost (32°F)Nov 18before Nov 5
Last hard freeze (28°F)Mar 12after Mar 26
First hard freeze (28°F)Dec 3before Nov 14
Frost-free season241 daysunder 220 days

"Typical" is the date with a 50% chance of a later spring frost (or earlier fall frost). Planting after the "1 year in 10" spring date gives a 90% chance of no further frost. The Old Farmer's Almanac publishes 30% dates, which fall between our typical and 1-in-10 dates.

Station: Washington Reagan Airport (USW00013743), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 105°F (July 7, 2012); the lowest was -4°F (January 19, 1994).

From the temperature station's daily records with NOAA quality flags removed. Not an all-time record.

Near Washington

Similar climates elsewhere

Also covers

Arlington and Alexandria use the same temperature and rain stations as Washington, so their monthly numbers are the ones on this page.

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain, snowfall, snow depth, frost dates and humidity and wind by hour: Washington Reagan Airport (USW00013743), 3.2 mi S of the city center, 10 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Cloud cover: Camp Springs Andrews AFB (USW00013705), 11 mi ESE of the city center, 282 ft (258 ft higher than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Ronald Reagan Washington Natl Airport (724050-13743), 3.3 mi S of the city center, 13 ft . Hourly observations, 1991-2020.

Distances from the city center (USGS). Methodology · Report an error