On this date in 1997, the temperature soared to a calendar-day record of 102; the heat index, factoring in humidity, reached 111. It was the first of two excessively hot days. The next day’s high would soar to 105.
“Even at traditionally popular cooling-off spots, parents and children complained there was no escape,” The Washington Post reported. “The water at amusement parks wasn’t refreshing enough, air-conditioned museums were too crowded, and outdoors was out of the question.”
Here are other notables from this day:
- Average high: 88
- Average low: 71
- Record high: 102 (1997)
- Record low: 54 (1921)
- Record rainfall: 1.97 inches (1872)
