Washington

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for District of Columbia, the county that contains Washington.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in District of Columbia, the county that contains Washington.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

High tide flooding

Tide gauges in District of Columbia.

1. High tide flooding days are days on which a NOAA tide gauge recorded water at or above NOAA's minor flood threshold, set from the gauge's tide range, counted by meteorological year (May to April). These are the counts in NOAA's annual high tide flooding reports; they are not National Weather Service flood stages. Years with less than 80 percent of data are left out.

NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, through April 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in District of Columbia.

Mapped by NASA (2).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 18, 2003Tropical Storm, District Of Columbia$125 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Isabel shut down Washington, DC on Thursday September 18 and Friday September 19. The city had days of preparation and many people including non-emergency government personnel were told to stay home. Tropical storm force winds spread north into the area by 4 pm. Because air temperatures were cool (in the 60s) and the peak of the storm occurred near midnight, the real hurricane force winds were a few hundred feet up. Wind sensors on building tops recorded 70 to 85 mph hour winds. At the surface, winds were about half of that, but occasional strong gusts would mix down from above and damage trees and power lines. Winds began to subside falling below tropical storm by 4 am…

2. Jul 29, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wind gust of 73 knots (84 MPH) was measured by a mesonet at the George Washington University Mount Vernon Campus (1855W). Thousands of trees, branches, wires and poles blew down in Palisades, Wesley Heights, Cathedral Heights, Woodley Park, Observatory Circle, Foxhall Village, Adams Morgan, Cleveland Park, and DuPont Circle, including dozens onto cars, homes and businesses. Several apartment buildings lost their roof, including along Wisconsin Avenue Northwest; other homes particularly in the Wesley Heights neighborhood suffered roof and siding damage from the wind. A large tree blew down onto an SUV on Foxhall Road Northwest, injuring two occupants. The National Zoo was closed…

3. Jan 20, 1996Flood, District Of Columbia$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   *** Potomac River Flooding ***High dew point temperatures melted the entire snow pack within 12 hours, with liquid equivalents averaging 1 to 2 inches. Snowmelt combined with 1 to 3 inches of rain caused the worst regional flooding in over 10 years. No tidal variations were noted once the stage surpassed 10 feet. The river crested at 13.88 feet (Wisconsin Avenue in lower Georgetown) on the 21st, dropping below flood stage (7 feet) by the 23rd.River flooding in the city was limited to Georgetown, Foggy Bottom, and the Haines Point/Washington Marina area. High water forced the closure of some waterfront property for several days, damaged homes and businesses, and brought heavy…

4. Jun 25, 2006Flash Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A weak cold front settled over the forecast area from June 23 until June 27. Waves of low pressure rode northeast along the front. Flow in the atmosphere was parallel to the boundary, producing several rounds of training echoes. As a result, double digit rainfall totals affected parts of the region through the five days. There were also several rounds of severe weather with damaging winds and large hail during the period.A slow-moving line of thunderstorms fired along a tropical moisture plume and dumped between 4 and 7 inches of rain in Washington DC, causing extensive urban flooding on June 25 and June 26. Washington National Airport recorded more than 10 inches of rain, with…

5. Aug 11, 2001Flash Flood$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Over 3000 homes and businesses and almost 50 government buildings were damaged after 6 inches of rain fell in less than 3 hours.

6. Jul 29, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dozens of trees, branches and wires blew down in Columbia Heights, Petworth, Fort Totten, Michigan Park, University Heights, Brookland, Brentwood, and Trinidad. A large tree blew down onto a residence on Queen Street Northeast, displacing a dozen residents.

7. Aug 27, 2011Tropical Storm, District Of Columbia$2.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees were down throughout the District. Over 30,000 people lost power. Several Row Houses received extensive damage and were deemed uninhabitable. Several trees fell onto single family homes and a few cars were crushed by fallen trees. Numerous roadways were blocked by downed trees.

8. Jul 28, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dozens of large trees were down and snapped the Cathedral area in Northwest Washington DC, including near the intersection of Connecticut Avenue Northwest and Van Ness Street Northwest where a pole snapped, and on 28th Place Northwest. Several trees blew onto and crushed cars. A gas station awning blew over on US-29 Georgia Avenue Northwest near Farragut Street Northwest.

9. Aug 7, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Over 350 trees were downed onto roads, cars, and buildings by a microburst of winds estimated between 60 and 70 MPH.

10. Jun 19, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    A six-story building under construction collapsed near the intersection of 19th Street Northeast and H Street Northeast.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

105°F2 times, most recently Jul 7, 2012

All-time low

−5°FJan 17, 1982

Warmest night

84°F4 times, most recently Jul 3, 2026

Coldest day

8°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

6.11 inJun 21, 1972

Snowiest day

16.4 inFeb 11, 1983

Hottest year

2024mean 61.8°F

Coldest year

1958mean 55.6°F

Wettest year

201866.28 in

Driest year

196526.94 in

Snowiest season

56.1 in2009-10

Station Washington Reagan Natl Airport (USW00013743), 13 ft elevation, 4.1 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1941 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for District of Columbia.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00013743.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tide gauges NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.