On this date in 1939, a calendar-day record 2.04 inches of rain fell.
“A lashing thunderstorm, driven by near gale-winds, swept across Washington late yesterday, tied up auto and air travel for nearly an hour, flooded cellars throughout the city, and tore down a number of trees,” The Washington Post reported on its front page the next day. It said one vehicle stalled as it encountered floodwaters along Rock Creek near the zoo and “was rolled 200 yards downstream and toppled on its side.”
And on this date in 2013, a tornado carved an unusually long 17.3-mile path from North Potomac to Burtonsville in Maryland. The tornado, rated a 0 on the 0-to-5 Enhanced Fujita scale for intensity, caused no injuries but toppled numerous trees, some onto homes and vehicles.
Here are other notables from this day:
- Average high: 85
- Average low: 67
- Record high: 96 (1954)
- Record low: 51 (1887)
- Record rainfall: 2.04 inches (1939)
