On this date in 1934, a calendar-day record 4.02 inches of rain fell during a torrential thunderstorm. The front page of The Washington Post described it as a “cloudburst” the next day.
“More rain fell in Washington in one hour yesterday than during any previous 60-minute period in the 63-year-old records of the Weather Bureau, turning streets into rivers, sending tons of water into basements in every section of the city and paralyzing street railway and electric power services in many communities,” The Post wrote.
Of the 4.02 inches, 3.42 inches fell in a single hour — the highest hourly rainfall rates observed in D.C. to this date. A deluge that occurred on July 8, 2019 — during which 3.3 inches fell in an hour — ranks second.
Here are other notables from this date:
- Average high: 82
- Average low: 66
- Record high: 98 (2019)
- Record low: 41 (1917)
- Record rainfall: 4.02 inches (1934)
