D.C. soars to record high of 102 amid hottest summer to date
An excessive-heat warning for the D.C. region will be in effect again on Tuesday, when it will be comparably hot and humid.

By Dan Stillman, Ian Livingston and Jason Samenow
Updated July 15, 2024 at 5:44 p.m. EDT | Published July 15, 2024 at 1:28 p.m. EDT



A tourist catches her breath after climbing the steps at the Lincoln Memorial during a heat wave in Washington on Monday. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

For a second straight day, Washington soared into the triple digits, setting a record high. Its high of 102 Monday followed Sunday’s 101, at the midpoint of a summer that has been the hottest on record to date.

The ongoing heat wave — the third of the summer — is perhaps the most intense and dangerous.

After reaching 96 on Saturday, 101 on Sunday and 102 on Monday, Washington is forecast to reach the upper 90s to 100s on Tuesday and Wednesday as well. With high humidity, the heat index is expected to reach 105 to 110 degrees, prompting the National Weather Service to put most of the region under excessive-heat warnings through Tuesday.

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No alerts are posted yet for Wednesday, when the heat index could be near 105.

Here are the predicted highs through Wednesday and the records that could be threatened:

• Tuesday: Forecast high of 101; record is 104 from 1988.
• Wednesday: Forecast high of 97; record is 102 from 1980.



Predicted highs on Tuesday from the National Weather Service.

Nighttime lows dropping to only around 80 degrees could also challenge records.

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By Dan Stillman
Dan Stillman is a meteorologist and editor for the Capital Weather Gang. He earned an M.S. in Meteorology from Texas A&M University, and a B.S. in Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences from the University of Michigan. Twitter https://twitter.com/stillmand

By Ian Livingston
Ian Livingston is a forecaster/photographer and information lead for the Capital Weather Gang. By day, Ian is a defense and national security researcher at a D.C. think tank. Twitter https://twitter.com/islivingston

By Jason Samenow
Jason Samenow is The Washington Post’s weather editor and Capital Weather Gang's chief meteorologist. He earned a master's degree in atmospheric science and spent 10 years as a climate change science analyst for the U.S. government. He holds the Digital Seal of Approval from the National Weather Association. Twitter https://twitter.com/capitalweather