D.C. sees a wide range between its coldest and hottest temperatures — currently about 86 degrees from low to high. But that gap has been narrowing as minimum temperatures rise over time, a trend linked to climate change and the city’s growing urban heat island.
Highest temperature by year
Washington’s all-time high temperature is 106 degrees, reached during the summers of 1918 and 1930. At the other end of the spectrum, the coolest annual maximum temperature was just 92 degrees, occurring in 1886 and — somewhat surprisingly — again in 2004.
In a typical year, the hottest temperature recorded in Washington is around 99 degrees. That average annual maximum has remained remarkably steady since the late 1990s, despite considerable year-to-year variability — from 92 degrees in 2004 to peaks of 105 degrees in 1997 and 2012.
Over the long-term record, the city’s average annual maximum temperature has shown little change, generally ranging between 97 and 99 degrees.
Lowest temperature by year
The stability seen in Washington’s annual high temperatures does not extend to the coldest readings. The city’s cold extremes have warmed substantially over time.
In the early 1900s, the average coldest temperature recorded each year was around 2 degrees. Today, that annual minimum typically falls only into the mid-teens.
In some recent years, the coldest temperature has been even milder. In 2021, for example, the year’s lowest temperature was 24 degrees.
That’s a stark contrast with the city’s all-time record low of minus-15, set during the historic cold wave of 1899.
Range in temperatures by year
As the coldest temperatures have warmed over time, the annual temperature range in Washington has narrowed — although it remains substantial.
One of the widest spreads occurred in 1881, when temperatures ranged 118 degrees, from minus-14 to 104. By comparison, 2021 had a much smaller range. That year’s unusually mild coldest temperature — 24 degrees — paired with a high of 97 degrees.
On average today, the annual temperature range in Washington is about 86 degrees, roughly 12 degrees smaller than it was in the early 1900s.
