On this day in 1888, a tornado touched down in D.C. between Ninth and 10th streets along the southern edge of downtown and swept Maryland Avenue. “Two homes were unroofed, the roof of the National Museum was damaged, as were the Botanical Gardens,” the National Weather Service wrote. “The funnel lifted at the foot of Capitol Hill. The damage path was 2 miles long and 70 yards wide.”
And on this day in 1976, a calendar-day record 4.76 inches of rain fell as the remnants of a subtropical storm swept through the Mid-Atlantic. More than an inch fell the day before and 0.02 inches the next day, bringing the storm total to 5.83 inches. In Towson, Maryland, the system dumped 6.45 inches. Heavy rain fell from Florida to New York.
And on this day in 1999, the remnants of Hurricane Floyd, an intense hurricane which made landfall in North Carolina, passed through the area. “Gentler but still unkind, Hurricane Floyd sped up the Atlantic shoreline yesterday, flooding coastal areas and flattening trees in Maryland and Virginia,” The Washington Post reported the next day. The worst of the storm hit south and east of D.C., bringing flooding and high winds to the Virginia Tidewater, Southern Maryland and Eastern Shore. The storm caused about 457,000 power outages in the D.C. region, mostly in Maryland. In D.C., peak gusts surpassed 50 mph.
Here are other notables from this date:
- Average high: 81
- Average low: 64
- Record high: 96 (1991)
- Record low: 44 (1902)
- Record rainfall: 4.76 inches (1976)
