On this date in 1930, D.C’s temperature soared to 106 degrees, tied with Aug. 6, 1918 for its highest temperature observed on any date.
“Driven by a merciless sun, blazing in a nearly cloudless sky and by a hot wind, which eddied up from the burning pavements, the official thermometer in Washington rampaged upward yesterday to a new all-time heat record,” the front page of The Washington Post wrote on July 21. At a weather reporting kiosk on Pennsylvania Avenue, the mercury climbed to 110 degrees.
Mercifully, The Post said humidity was low which “offset the high temperatures.” The area was in the midst of one of its worst droughts on record; the lack of moisture aided the swift rise in temperatures.
It was the second of four straight days to reach at least 100 and two more days would hit the triple digits on July 25 and 26, for a total of six 100-degree days over an eight-day stretch.
Here are other notables from this day:
- Average high: 90
- Average low: 73
- Record high: 106 (1930)
- Record low: 53 (1890)
- Record rainfall: 1.45 inches (1969)
