DRIESTSINCE
District of Columbia · precipitation record 1871–2026

Washington, DC

THIS YEAR · 2026
DRIEST THIS YEAR SINCE 2012
16.95in
13th driest of 156 years · normal 23.74"
📖 Washington's full Precipitation Almanac →

Accumulation

TODAY
0.0in
no rain yet of 155 yrs
MONTH TO DATE
3.24in
68th driest of 156 yrs
91% of normal
LAST 90 DAYS
7.77in
25th driest of 156 yrs
70% of normal
YEAR TO DATE
16.95in
13th driest of 156 yrs
71% of normal

Extremes & Streaks

Biggest Day on Record

6.39in
on Aug 23, 1933 · in 156 years

Dry Streak

1days
current run under 0.01" · longest ever 38 days (to Nov 9, 2024)

Wet Streak

0days
consecutive days with rain · longest ever 15 days

Year to Date vs Normal

71%
16.95" of a normal 23.74" · wettest 46.34" (1886) · driest 11.41" (1872)

Wettest & Driest Years

The extremes of a 155-year record (1871–2025) — full calendar-year totals. The long-run average is 41.08" a year.

Wettest Years on Record

1201866.28in
2188961.33in
3200360.83in
4187860.09in
5188658.17in

Driest Years on Record

1193021.66in
2196526.94in
3195428.28in
4194129.17in
5198029.32in

Rainfall by Month

The seasonal rhythm — each month's normal precipitation, with this year's totals in blue. Where the blue bar clears the band, the month ran wetter than usual.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Normal (median)This year
Normally wettest in Jul (~4.06") and driest in Nov (~2.33"). Wettest calendar month ever: Sep 1934, 17.45".

This Day in History · Rainfall

Every year's rainfall on each of the next 7 dates at Washington — toggle a day below. The tallest bar (ringed) is the wettest on record for that date.

Wettest Jul 28 ever

3.31in
set in 2017

Rain on Jul 28

39%
of 155 years had measurable rain
1871: 0.87″1872: 0.00″1873: 0.61″1874: 0.01″1875: 0.48″1876: 0.05″1877: 1.30″1878: 0.00″1879: 0.00″1880: 0.00″1881: 0.00″1882: 1.03″1883: 0.46″1884: 0.74″1885: 0.00″1886: 0.00″1887: 0.00″1888: 0.01″1889: 0.02″1890: 0.14″1891: 0.15″1892: 1.09″1893: 0.00″1894: 0.00″1895: 0.04″1896: 0.01″1897: 0.26″1898: 0.36″1899: 0.14″1900: 0.00″1901: 0.00″1902: 0.00″1903: 0.00″1904: 0.01″1905: 0.00″1906: 0.01″1907: 0.00″1908: 0.00″1909: 0.00″1910: 0.00″1911: 0.00″1912: 0.00″1913: 0.00″1914: 0.72″1915: 0.00″1916: 0.04″1917: 0.00″1918: 0.01″1919: 0.00″1920: 0.00″1921: 0.32″1922: 0.21″1923: 1.58″1924: 0.00″1925: 0.03″1926: 0.00″1927: 0.00″1928: 0.55″1929: 0.00″1930: 0.00″1931: 0.00″1932: 0.00″1933: 0.04″1934: 0.11″1935: 0.00″1936: 0.07″1937: 0.00″1938: 0.00″1939: 0.00″1940: 0.00″1941: 0.00″1942: 0.00″1943: 0.00″1944: 0.00″1945: 1.35″1946: 0.00″1947: 0.03″1948: 0.09″1949: 0.00″1950: 0.00″1951: 2.90″1952: 0.00″1953: 0.00″1954: 0.00″1955: 0.03″1956: 0.00″1957: 0.00″1958: 0.00″1959: 0.00″1960: 0.00″1961: 0.00″1962: 0.00″1963: 0.68″1964: 0.00″1965: 0.06″1966: 0.04″1967: 0.05″1968: 0.00″1969: 2.31″1970: 0.00″1971: 0.00″1972: 0.00″1973: 0.00″1974: 0.00″1975: 0.13″1976: 0.00″1977: 0.00″1978: 0.15″1979: 0.23″1980: 0.00″1981: 0.72″1982: 0.00″1983: 0.00″1984: 0.00″1985: 0.00″1986: 0.00″1987: 0.00″1988: 0.00″1989: 0.02″1990: 0.00″1991: 0.00″1992: 0.00″1993: 0.00″1994: 0.35″1995: 0.00″1996: 0.00″1997: 0.16″1998: 0.00″1999: 0.02″2000: 0.75″2001: 0.00″2002: 0.00″2003: 0.87″2004: 0.03″2005: 0.00″2006: 0.00″2007: 0.02″2008: 0.00″2009: 0.00″2010: 0.00″2011: 0.00″2012: 0.27″2013: 0.00″2014: 0.00″2015: 0.00″2016: 0.27″2017: 3.31″2018: 0.00″2019: 0.00″2020: 0.00″2021: 0.45″2022: 0.20″2023: 0.10″2024: 0.00″2025: 0.00″0″1″2″3″4″188018901900191019201930194019501960197019801990200020102020

This Year's Rainfall

Washington's cumulative rainfall so far this year against its own record — the normal accumulation, and the wettest & driest years to date. The bright line is the running total; where it rides the band tells the story at a glance.
Washington, DC — cumulative rainfall this year vs the record
Download year chart

Rainfall Calendar

Washington's entire daily record as one heatmap — each row a year, each cell a day, shaded by that day's rainfall. Dry spells read as dark blocks, wet seasons as brighter bands; the whole climate at a glance.
Washington, DC — daily rainfall every day on record
Download calendar

Drought History

Every week of the U.S. Drought Monitor for Washington's county since 2000, coloured by intensity — dry spells and multi-year droughts read as warm bands.
Washington, DC — county drought history since 2000
Download drought history

Sun & Location

Sun & Daylight Today

Sunrise5:05 AM
Sunset7:23 PM
Solar noon12:14 PM
Daylight14h 18m
Local standard time (no DST), level horizon.

Location

38.85°N, 77.03°W

Nearby Stations

Sterling-Dulles Airport, VA23 mi WBaltimore, MD29 mi NEAnnapolis, MD30 mi EBaltimore Downtown, MD37 mi NEMartinsburg, WV63 mi NWHagerstown, MD70 mi NW

Share Card

Washington, DC precipitation share card
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