Washington Has 44th Coolest July

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Washington DC Weather Records

Image (click to enlarge): Washington, DC July 2009 temperature; CapitalClimate chart from National Weather Service data

After starting the month in near record cool territory, Washington, DC ended July with an average temperature only 2.3° below the long term average. This was the coolest since the back-to-back cool years of 2000 and 2001. The month is tied for 44th coolest July since official records began in 1871.

After the coolest day on July 5, with a high of only 73° and an average of 9° below normal, temperatures rose steadily during the month. The 90° level was first reached on July 12, and there were 7 90°+ days in all, including the month's high of 96°. This was just half of the long-term average of 13.8 days in July, but the high was only a little short of the average monthly high of 96.8°.

Despite the deficiency of precipitation, there were 0 clear days and 24 partly cloudy, compared with the average of 7 and 12, respectively.