While the sunshine may feel good on our shoulders after last week’s snow, the warmth comes with unnerving news: Today, DC reached the hottest temperature ever recorded in January, according to local meteorologists.
At around 1:20 PM today, Reagan National Airport, considered DC’s official weather station, recorded a temperature of 80 degrees, which the Washington Post described as the highest observed January temperature since records began in 1872.
The new high mark comes nearly six years after DC set a similar record in 2018 when it reached 80 degrees on February 21. Until now, that had been considered the earliest day of the year that the city had hit 80.
“Because of human-caused climate change, temperatures in the 70s or higher have become much more common in recent decades in the Washington region,” writes Capital Weather Gang’s Ian Livingston, who added that the humidity today was unseasonably high as well, with dew points reaching the mid-60s. “[That’s] close to unheard of during the middle of winter,” said Livingston.
On Twitter, Ryan Stauffer, an astronomical sciences researcher for NASA, called it “record-smashing, unbelievable warmth.”
Just your typical, average day in the Nation’s Capital.
If it were June 1, that is. https://t.co/aCzbN1U1W1 pic.twitter.com/xcS6G1yVnS
— Jonathan Erdman (@wxjerdman) January 26, 2024
