On this date in 1948, the temperature soared to a calendar-day record 99 degrees. It was the second day in a row to reach 99 and the fourth day in a six-day streak above 90. The front page of The Washington Post reported on Aug. 29 that four people had died from the heat in the D.C. area and that 114 heat-related deaths had occurred nationwide.
And on this date in 1992, the remnants of Hurricane Andrew, which devastated South Florida, unleashed 8 tornadoes in Maryland, according to The Baltimore Sun. One, in Howard County, was rated F2 on the 0 to 5 Fujita Scale for intensity, and caused $1 million in damages.
And on this date in 2011, Hurricane Irene completed its track through the Mid-Atlantic as it swept into New England. The storm brought “heavy rains and high winds that plunged homes into darkness, turned trees into projectiles and caused at least eight deaths” in the D.C. area, The Post reported. Irene produced 3.33 inches of rain on Aug. 27 and 0.5 inches on Aug. 28 in D.C. Sustained tropical-storm-force winds reached as far west as the Interstate 95 corridor, according to the National Weather Service. Reagan National Airport clocked a gust to 60 mph.
Here are other notables from the day:
- Average high: 86
- Average low: 70
- Record high: 99 (1948)
- Record low: 50 (1874)
- Record rainfall: 3.09 inches (1914)
