The DC area broke a heat record yesterday. It’s forecasted to break another one today. It broke a record back on June 23. And it would likely break the high temperature mark tomorrow, too, except for an unusually hot July 16 back in 1988.
Prolonged soaring temperatures like this occur when heat patterns stagnate, and this year is a doozy. 2012 was the last year with this many record-breaking temperatures at the start of the summer. “It happens, it just doesn’t happen very frequently,” says Brendon Rubin-Oster, a lead meteorologist at the National Weather Service, of the serial broken records. This summer’s 90.7-degree average high since June 1 is the second-hottest early summer on record, after 1994, and this year has the warmest average nighttime temperature on record for the area.
Today’s forecast, which predicts a 101-degree high, challenges a 100-degree record logged at Reagan National Airport in 1988 and a 98-degree record from Dulles International Airport in 1995. Yesterday, 101-degree heat at National topped a 100-degree record set in 1954.
It’s very humid, to boot. Heat indexes, which factor in humidity, could reach as high as 111 degrees today and tomorrow. Summers feel hotter than listed temperatures for a couple reasons in addition to humidity, explains Rubin-Oster. The sun is higher in the sky during the summer, “like a flashlight shining directly at you,” meaning higher UV levels. Experiencing many hot days in a row compounds the effect, he adds, because continuous heat is taxing for the human body.
The good news: this heat should break before the end of the week. A cold front coming in from the Upper Midwest on Wednesday will cool down the area, bringing more tolerable days in the 80s—though it also might mean severe thunderstorms on Wednesday.
In the meantime, experts emphasize the importance of staying hydrated, wearing breathable clothing, and staying in cool places. You can find cooling centers and free pools and splash parks all around the DC area.
