On this date in 1970, a July record of 4.69 inches of rain fell in the D.C. area — most of it from a single thunderstorm. “A late-afternoon thunderstorm swamped the area with about 3 inches of rain in two hours yesterday, snarling rush-hour traffic, knocking out power, and bringing waist-high floodwaters to low-lying areas,” The Washington Post’s Martin Weil wrote in article that appeared on the paper’s front page.
Here are other notables from this day:
- Average high: 90
- Average low: 72
- Record high: 104 (1936)
- Record low: 55 (1891)
- Record rainfall: 4.69 inches (1970)
