On this date in 1996 and the day before, rain from Tropical Storm Bertha dropped 1.68 inches on D.C. while winds gusted over 30 mph. The storm caused water levels to increase 2 to 3 feet along the Tidal Potomac River in D.C. and it spawned several tornadoes in Virginia’s Northern Neck and Southern Maryland.
“Short of the devastating strength it possessed as a hurricane, Tropical Storm Bertha still managed to punish the Washington region with tornadoes, heavy rain and sharp winds early yesterday, damaging homes, sparking power outages and causing minor flooding as it churned northeasterly up the Chesapeake Bay,” The Washington Post reported on its front page.
The storm made landfall in eastern North Carolina as a Category 2 hurricane and produced over 4 inches of rain from southeast Virginia into the southern Delmarva Peninsula. As it moved inland and northward, it quickly weakened to a tropical storm.
Here are other notables from this day:
- Average high: 90
- Average low: 73
- Record high: 100 (1954)
- Record low: 56 (1888)
- Record rainfall: 3.37 inches (1922)
