🏛️ Washington D.C. Weather

Swampy summers and cherry-blossom springs

Washington has a humid subtropical climate and a long-standing reputation for oppressive summers — the old myth that the capital was "built on a swamp" persists precisely because July and August can feel like it. The Potomac and Anacostia rivers and the city's inland-but-low setting trap warm, moist air, making D.C. one of the muggiest big cities in the Northeast.

Hot, humid summers

Summer highs average in the upper 80s°F (around 31°C), and the combination of heat and humidity routinely pushes the heat index past 100°F (38°C). Towering afternoon thunderstorms are a near-daily possibility, and the record high is a scorching 106°F (41°C).

Mild winters, occasional paralysis

Winters are generally mild, with highs in the mid-40s°F (around 7°C), and most years bring only modest snow. But D.C. sits right on the rain–snow line, so when a storm tracks just right it can be a blockbuster — "Snowmageddon" in February 2010 dropped more than two feet and shut the federal government for days.

The famous cherry blossoms typically peak in late March to early April, a moment the whole city watches; an early warm spell or a late frost can shift the bloom by weeks. D.C. averages about 40 inches (1,020 mm) of rain a year.

A subtropical swamp summer

Washington's summers are notoriously hot and humid — the city sits on the muggy Coastal Plain near the tidal Potomac, and the joke that it was built on a swamp captures the sticky, oppressive feel of July and August, with heat indices past 100°F (38°C).

Winters are variable and often a forecasting headache: a coastal storm's exact track decides whether the region gets cold rain or a paralyzing nor'easter snow. Spring brings the famous cherry blossom bloom in late March, while autumn is the crispest, most settled season, occasionally grazed by a decaying tropical system.