On this day in 1961, the day before John F. Kennedy’s presidential inauguration, a calendar-day record 7.1 inches of wind-whipped snow fell. The snow began gently that afternoon but rapidly increased in intensity. Federal workers were sent home early, and area roadways became clogged. Read more on this event here: How a surprise snowstorm almost spoiled Kennedy’s inauguration
And on this date in 1994, the District had one of its coldest days in recorded history. The high was just 8 degrees. In records that date to 1872, only Feb. 10, 1899 had a lower high temperature: 4 degrees. The low of minus-4 degrees on this day in 1994 was the coldest since 1982 and has not been matched since.
The cold created massive heating demand and “plunged the Washington area … into its biggest power emergency in nearly two decades, shutting down federal and local government offices, schools and businesses after utilities made an extraordinary public plea for them to close,” The Washington Post reported.
And on this day in 1996, rain, abnormally high temperatures and melting snow (after a blizzard two weeks earlier) caused flash flooding, “closing dozens of roads, stranding motorists, swamping basements and yards and causing thousands of homes to lose power,” the front page of The Post said. The Potomac River in D.C. crested at 19.29 feet, its fifth highest level on record on Jan. 21.
Read more about the flood here: The January 1996 Flood in the Mid-Atlantic
Here are other notables for the day:
- Average high: 44
- Average low: 30
- Record high: 71 (1951)
- Record low: minus-4 (1994)
- Record precipitation: 1.41 inches (1936)
- Record snowfall: 7.0 inches (1961)
