On this date in 1889, a calendar-day record 2.25 inches of rain fell after 1.42 inches fell the previous day. Another 1.03 inches would fall the next day bringing the storm total to 4.7 inches. The deluge, combined with a surge of water down the Potomac River, resulted in one of D.C.’s most severe flood events on record.
“The streets and reservations in the center of the city and all the wharves and streets along the riverfront, were under water,” the National Weather Service wrote in a summary of the event. “Pennsylvania Avenue was flooded from 2nd to 10th Streets. The Potomac River crested at the Aqueduct Bridge at 19.5 feet on June 2. Additionally, damage occurred on Rock Creek, with the Woodley Lane Bridge washed away. Considerable damage occurred to machinery plants and material at the Navy Yard.”
The rain came from the same storm system that brought a flood disaster to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, where more than 2,000 people died.
“While Washington fared far better than Johnstown, the flood of the Potomac river was still the worst the nation’s capital had ever seen,” wrote the blog Streets of Washington, which has a detailed a historical account of the event. “At the peak of the flood parts of Pennsylvania Avenue were covered with from 1 to 4 feet of water.”
Here are other notables from this day:
- Average high: 80
- Average low: 63
- Record high: 99 (1991)
- Record low: 44 (1938)
- Record rainfall: 2.25 inches (1889)
